Proving It Is the Data That Is Biased, Not the Algorithm Through a Recent South African Online Case Study
Abstract:
In the recent past, some Internet users questioned the reliability of online news, but not necessarily the role of search engines in programming public discourse. In 2018, South African Twitter users accused Google of peddling misinformation when Google Image searches for the phrase “squatter camps in South Africa” displayed images of white squatter camps. Many analysts blamed Google’s algorithm for displaying bias. In this article, the authors use this example in comparing the findings of six different search engines to counter this argument. Search engines that are diverse in their scope and origin are used to prove that is it not the algorithm, but rather the data that is biased.
AUTHORS
Department of Visual Communication Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria West,
South Africa
Anna-Marie Jansen van Vuuren is a screenwriting lecturer within the film programme of the Department of Visual Communication at the Faculty of Arts and Design, Tshwane University of Technology. Her current research includes the history of contemporary South African cinema. Her work has been published in journals such as Journal of African Cinemas, Communicatio, as well as in international conference proceedings.
University of the Western Cape and Center for Artificial Intelligence Research Cape Town,
South Africa
Louise Leenen areas of specialization are Artificial Intelligence applications in Cyber Defence and mathematical modelling. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She is the Chair of the International Federation for Information Processing’s Working Group 9.10 on ICT Uses in Peace and War. Louise holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Wollongong in Australia.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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