“Clearly unacceptable error”: Facebook after labeling black men “Primates”
PTI, Sep 4, 2021, 11:20 AM IST
Facebook on Friday said it disabled its topic recommendation feature after it mistook Black men for “primates” in video at the social network.
A Facebook spokesperson called it a “clearly unacceptable error” and said the recommendation software involve was taken offline.
“We apologize to anyone who may have seen these offensive recommendations,” Facebook said in response to an AFP inquiry.
“We disabled the entire topic recommendation feature as soon as we realized this was happening so we could investigate the cause and prevent this from happening again.”
Facial recognition software has been blasted by civil rights advocates who point out problems with accuracy, particularly it comes to people who are not white.
Facebook users in recent days who watched a British tabloid video featuring Black men were show an auto-generated prompt asking if they would like to “keep seeing videos about Primates,” according to the New York Times.
The June 2020 video in question, posted by the Daily Mail, is titled “White man calls cops on black men at marina.”
While humans are among the many species in the primate family, the video had nothing to do with monkeys, chimpanzees or gorillas.
A screen capture of the recommendation was shared on Twitter by former Facebook content design manager Darci Groves.
“This ‘keep seeing’ prompt is unacceptable,” Groves tweeted, aiming the message at former colleagues at Facebook.
“This is egregious.”
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
WATCH: 5 runaway military horses cause mayhem in London
Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding
Who would lead if US stepped off world stage? asks Biden
Sexual harassment case: HC declines to suspend prison sentence of former TN special DGP
Watch: 2 Malaysian Navy helicopters crash mid-air; 10 onboard killed
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
WATCH: 5 runaway military horses cause mayhem in London
FIR filed over BJP’s social media post allegedly promoting hatred and enmity: EC
Can’t control elections or pass directions on basis of suspicion: SC tells EVM critics
Amitabh Bachchan receives Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar
Hubballi: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala visits Neha’s house, assures justice to family