Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results

Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by 6gvONxR4sf7o on Sunday November 17, 2019 @12:14PM (#21558813)

The entire premise here is ridiculous. It "interferes" and "changes your results" to "shape what you see." It's like me asking you a question and you "interfering with your vocal cords and changing your response to shape what I hear."

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Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by pochamago on Sunday November 17, 2019 @02:06PM (#21559415)

People feel like algorithms are neutral and people are biased. Having people actively intervene on something that only algorithms would have touched otherwise feels bad if you already suspected that your results aren't what they should be

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Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by 6gvONxR4sf7o on Sunday November 17, 2019 @03:13PM (#21559797)

Yeah, people who don't have practical experience with them seem to think of algos as a kind of designed policy, like laws. Exceptions to the laws seem to be hypocrisy. In reality, algos are just a way to scale and automate some goal. Exceptions compensate for imperfection execution of that goal.

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Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by robbrown451 on Sunday November 17, 2019 @01:29PM (#21559214)

This was my impression too, although they could have adjusted the wording to say "manually" or "directly" or something to indicate it isn't purely algorithmic.

Of course algorithms can have bias too, but still.

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Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by goatinaboat on Sunday November 17, 2019 @12:34PM (#21558894)

It's like me asking you a question and you "interfering with your vocal cords and changing your response to shape what I hear."

No, that is analogous to Google setting a font and colour theme you like, which they don’t do, btw.

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Re:Google Interferes with Its Search Algorithms and Changes ... by shanty on Sunday November 17, 2019 @04:39PM (#21560207)

Not exactly. There is an implicit expectation of truth when searching on Google, sort of like an encyclopedia. The interference happens when the results do not match reality.

Try these yourself to see how this can change public opinion: Google: "is abortion good or bad" returns almost entirely pro-aborion results. Do the same on Bing and you get actual results such as "Is abortion a good or bad thing?"

Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_manipulation_eff...

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