The “monkey holding box” incident shed light on how the complicated algorithm of search engines can sometimes be biased.
Many of us depend on Google search engines to get information on many subjects. Whether we are looking for a restaurant to dine in or a tourist spot we want to visit, we often search for it. And many of the times, we get accurate results and correct information.
But what happens when we get inaccurate results which is not only incorrect but offensive to some people? This was exactly what happened with the monkey-holding box incident.
What is the Monkey Holding Box Incident?
This infamous incident is about the result a Google search engine provides when users search for a monkey holding box. Users were amused when they found out that when they searched for monkey holding box, a black person holding a cardboard box showed up as a result.
This makes many question how the algorithm of the search engines work. The algorithm is very complicated to make sure that all search results are correct. But in some cases like this, where certain terms or words have association with completely different words, mistakes can happen.
But the mistake is not so simple as it brings forward questions about race and discrimination. It emphasizes discrimination and makes a race of people feel more inhumane than ever. The algorithm biases remind us that our world works in a system where some races face very inhumane discrimination. And the algorithm seems to have picked this up, as unfortunate as that is.
This brought us to the question of how the algorithm needs updates to make sure it is correct, ethical, and inclusive. The algorithm that is already so progressive still needs updates to make sure it serves us correctly and equally.
How Does Search Engine Work?
This incident makes us wonder how the search engine works and how the algorithm gives us all our answers.
The most simple explanation for this is that when we search the algorithm takes a few factors into account. The main factor that decides what answers we will get is the keywords we use to make any search. Along with this the algorithm checks website credibility and our preferences and gives us the results that suit this best.
So when certain keywords have associations with certain words, mistakes can happen. The monkey holding box is a good example of this as it is the association between these words and black people that make the result happen. The algorithm may be a well-curated system but it has its flaws. And sometimes these flaws enhance social injustice and play into the different prejudices that we currently have.
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Impact of the Monkey Holding Box Incident
There were some impacts from this incident. This is mainly because many users have an interest in the result and how the algorithm works.
Algorithm
From this incident, many people started to question the algorithm and how correct it is in most cases. They also search for the biases of the algorithm and how the biases were formed. This incident makes it clear that racial inclusivity is something search engines need to work on for the best results.
Community
We should note that this incident seems to be unintentional and was an accident. But this does not mean that communities were not hurt by the incident. When a black person or the community sees that their image comes up when the search is for an animal, this is not right for many reasons. For a community that has faced so much racial discrimination, this just makes them feel more inhumane. This is something that we must correct and the algorithm should be more inclusive.
Response
Google also responded to this incident and promised to ensure that all search engine algorithms were made more correct and fair. They also apologize for the incident and they promise to move forward more inclusively. We must make sure that systems like the search engine which are at the center of our world at this moment must be inclusive. It should have data on different racial groups and invest in diversity and inclusivity.
Need for Ethical Algorithm Development
The incident involving the “monkey holding box” mix-up highlights the pressing need for robust ethical guidelines in algorithm development.
To avoid incidents like the monkey holding box, we need to make sure that all our search engines are ethical. Problems like this occur mainly when diversity is not taken into consideration while training the algorithm. This means that the team of people who are training the algorithm does not have the diversity it needs. Thus people who are training them do not have enough experience or knowledge to avoid such incidents.
Here are some measures we can take to avoid such problems,
- Developing an ethical guideline for the algorithm to follow can be a good start. We can then follow this ethical guideline when training algorithms.
- We can also be active in making sure that every training is diverse and combines all racial communities.
- Addressing different problems that have already occurred and trying to solve them to make them better is another option.
Conclusion
Our world is becoming more and more digitalized and at the center of this is search engine. So when something goes wrong in the search engine and the results they provide, an incident like the monkey holding box occurs.
Such incidents in many cases can be minor and we may not notice them. But when such incidents happen where racial injustice is made known by such flaws in the algorithm, it becomes a problem. Additionally, it makes us aware of our social prejudice and the problem of diversity we are facing. These are problems we have been facing since time immemorial and we are bringing this forward in our digital life as well. We must be ethical first and must be inclusive in every aspect of our world. We should then bring this inclusivity and diversity into training the algorithm.
Harsh Mistri is a results-oriented digital marketing specialist with a focus on SEO, PPC, and blogging. Passionate about technology and emerging trends, he enjoys sharing insights and knowledge through his writing.
