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Facebook company logo: "Keep making mistakes and just say that they are sorry"
Photo: Jakub Porzycki / picture alliance / NurPhoto
A Facebook algorithm mistook black people for monkeys.
A spokeswoman for the company confirmed on Friday the problem that had occurred with a video for the British tabloid Daily Mail.
Facebook users who watched the video entitled "White man calls police about black men at the port" were then asked if they "would like to continue to watch videos about primates," as the New York Times reported.
The spokeswoman spoke of a "clearly unacceptable mistake."
The software responsible was immediately taken off the network.
"We apologize to everyone who has seen these offensive recommendations."
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Face recognition (here: use of Huawei software in China)
Photo: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Facebook uses various forms of artificial intelligence to personalize the content displayed to users.
Face recognition software is also used.
However, civil rights activists have long pointed out problems with accuracy.
Artificial intelligence is also used on Facebook to moderate content, for example to recognize and block problematic messages and images.
»Always mistakes«
The current case was discovered when a former Facebook employee posted a screenshot on a product feedback forum.
A product manager in the company's video division responded, describing the incident as "unacceptable" and promising to address the root of the problem.
The former employee told the New York Times that a series of incidents showed that dealing with problems of racism was not a priority in the company's management: “Facebook cannot keep making mistakes and just say that they are sorry”.
feb / AFP