(Un)Biased
Do algorithms reinforce search engine bias?
Do search algorithms reinforce oppression?
Do search algorithms reinforce oppression?
Introduction:
The Issue
What are algorithms?
Algorithm:
April 3, 2019 -
Algorithms are a way to sort and present data to maximize what the computer and software developer think are the most important to a specific user. ... It is important to remember that algorithms are created by people and that people hold inherent biases that can easily appear in the code they create.
How many people prefer Google over other search engines?
We conducted an online survey that gained 86 responses and found that
?
97.6%
use Google over other search engine platforms.
Google is based on an algorithm system. It is said that on average, there are 4,464,000,000 searches a day on Google alone, over 5x more than the second most popular engine, Bing. This gives a chance for over 4 billion cases of potential bias and prejudice (Eliason, 2016)
Evidence of Bias:
The Proof
People experience algorithm bias on a constant basis, whether they know it or not.
Google, for example, holds the top spot on their searches for “Sponsored Ads,” which are marked, but it is easy to miss the label. They used to make sponsored links easily visible for the eye to see, whether that was through highlighting it a different color, placing them on a different side of the screen, or using a pop of yellow next to it to distinguish it from others.
Now that they have integrated sponsored links seamlessly with search results, it benefits the company because of how easy it is for the user to mistake it with an organic search result. With this, companies can bring their names closer to the consumers using the search engine, generating more clicks and furthering whatever agenda they hold (Marvin, 2017).
The Survey
Evidence supports this case of bias in terms of portraying oppression towards individuals who are part of a minority group.
We searched phrases that tend to be dominated by a specific group of individuals such as "Marriage" and "CEO" and analyzed what individuals noticed and felt from those search image results.
"Marriage"
17.9% felt uncomfortable, sad, or upset
The Results
94% of individuals noticed the lack of diversity in these search results when it comes to race and/or sexuality.
"CEO"
44.1% felt uncomfortable, sad, or upset
The Results
91.6% of individuals noticed the lack of diversity in these search results when it comes to race and/or gender
This issue isn't going unnoticed, but nothing is being done about it to fix the situation.
Why this matters:
The People
From the survey, it was found that 61.9% of individuals believed that the thought of getting biased search results especially towards minority groups never crossed their minds before.
This kind of bias in search results creates more coverage for majority groups who already hold the spotlight in so many other places, and hides minority groups from the public eye.
It is not an accident.
While it is difficult to make blanket statements like “search engines are bad because they discriminate against [insert group], it does help to know the results we see and analyze why they show up first.
THINK...
Is it for monetary gain? Political gain? Personal bias on behalf of the developers?
How you can be aware:
The Change
Look for your information in more than one place.
Only pulling information from one search engine platform is the same thing as going to a library and only pulling books from a shelf that is eye level to you. You want to pull books from shelves all around to gather the most accurate and concise information you possibly can.
Go to search engines you don't normally visit or smaller ones that don't get as much traffic.
This can help when it comes to getting diverse results when it comes to your searches and can also prevent you from getting stuck into a filter bubble of similar search results and opinions.
Don't believe everything you read.
It is very important in today's society that's filled with biased information and fake news that we seek out information and formulate our own opinion, theories, and thoughts from a handful of sources instead of going off of one news article.