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<p>The photo service had also labeled a <a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/132452869@N04/17801937502/">white woman wearing face paint </a>] as "ape" and "animal," so Flickr's algorithm does not appear to be taking a person's skin color into consideration when auto-tagging them. </p>
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[http://www.cnet.com/news/google-apologizes-for-algorithm-mistakenly-calling-black-people-gorillas/ Google apologizes for algorithm mistakenly calling black people 'gorillas' |CNET]
The incident points to the problem tech companies face as computers get smarter and are expected to take on more more tasks a human normally would do. Those areas of computer science -- such as artificial intelligence or machine learning -- are some of the biggest engineering focuses in Silicon Valley. But ''with that focus comes another task that computers have not traditionally tackled: grappling with the challenge of sensitivity''
=== [http://internet.gawker.com/flickrs-auto-tagging-feature-accidentally-labeled-a-bla-1706045425 Flickr's Auto-Tagging Feature Accidentally Labeled a Black Man "Ape"]
<p>Search for “ape” on Flickr and you’ll witness an endlessly scrolling cavalcade of primate photography, from monkeys glimpsed on safari to those held in captivity at the zoo. Until recently, you’d also see <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thirteenthfloormedia/14570569401">a portrait of a middle-aged black man</a> named William. Flickr thought William was an ape, too.</p>
<p>The accidental racism <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/20/flickr-complaints-offensive-auto-tagging-photos">came via Flickr’s new auto-tagging system</a>, which aimed to be helpful in appending broad labels to users’ photographs without asking them first. Previously, if you took a picture of your new Harley but didn’t tag it with “motorcycle,” other users might not find it when performing a search for pictures of two-wheelers. Auto-tags are meant to rectify a situation that didn’t need rectifying in the first place. (Maybe you didn’t tag a picture of your newborn because you didn’t want him turning up in someone else’s search for generic baby pics.)</p>
<p>In a comment to the <em>Guardian </em>about the snafu, which was pointed out by a user, Flickr touted the “advanced image recognition technology” behind the auto-tagging feature. That technology, it turns out, possesses the discerning eye of a shar-pei with cataracts. In addition to labeling Corey Deshon’s portrait of William with “ape” and “animal,” Flickr did the same for <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/132452869@N04/17801937502/">this photo of a white woman</a> with multicolored paint on her face—the software’s intentions apparently aren’t racist, even if the results sometimes are—and tagged photos of the Dachau and Auschwitz concentrations with “sport.”</p>
<p>All of the offending examples listed here have since been corrected, though the two portraits are still labeled with “animal,” which is I suppose technically accurate. And users can manually remove bad auto-tags from their pictures. As the <em>Guardian </em>notes, Flickr appears to have wisely removed “ape” entirely from its auto-tagger’s list of choices. Maybe leave this stuff to humans with eyes next time. </p>
=== [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/01/google-sorry-racist-auto-tag-photo-app Google says sorry for racist auto-tag in photo app] ===
[http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/21/technology/flickr-racist-tags/ Flickr's new auto-tags are racist and offensive | CNN Money]
<p>Some <a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/30926561@N02/17730858426/in/photolist-t1PhtC-t9UdPS-s6sGU9-smmvJp-sPvwCJ-tgaLPN-teWtUw-sZttTb-sKNEiW-eHmxpn-7Vk6Ej-dt8Tcc-d5A1RW-smkQik-tfXmoY-t2WmHi-s3KiFZ-sZkEgy-t767zr-sKnhzW-gqKgNE-85X9ph-8ekV5V-5RaoV2-bURk9k-aC1Qdt-55ns6z-4bm4LE-4JKVz1-55rDAd-4zsDnW-dBCSe-cJXXbs-55ns5r-a2pVNe-6s2ZM2-6s38R6-6sdaGL-apBu25-ccdzgb-dQmvU5-6g232V-c9pxY3-eTpvDQ-fCgvGy-4zsDHw-2QyZUa-4zsCK9-4JFDHi-6s79UA">concentration camp photos</a> ] received inappropriate tags, including "<a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/30926561@N02/17730858426/in/photolist-t1PhtC-t9UdPS-s6sGU9-smmvJp-sPvwCJ-tgaLPN-teWtUw-sZttTb-sKNEiW-eHmxpn-7Vk6Ej-dt8Tcc-d5A1RW-smkQik-tfXmoY-t2WmHi-s3KiFZ-sZkEgy-t767zr-sKnhzW-gqKgNE-85X9ph-8ekV5V-5RaoV2-bURk9k-aC1Qdt-55ns6z-4bm4LE-4JKVz1-55rDAd-4zsDnW-dBCSe-cJXXbs-55ns5r-a2pVNe-6s2ZM2-6s38R6-6sdaGL-apBu25-ccdzgb-dQmvU5-6g232V-c9pxY3-eTpvDQ-fCgvGy-4zsDHw-2QyZUa-4zsCK9-4JFDHi-6s79UA">sport</a>]" and "<a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/8201658514/in/photolist-duKDkq-9PKSj-cXnmV3-fTKqzx-a7YLG-bkwWS9-W7SqH-4H8i7U-maaRAe-4H847H-8mzCSf-dBzph-2ZdhDw-4he7Rw-kgxaY7-5hALSZ-5yyGsr-b4HESt-4S1hBe-nypSAa-6iVXQd-54wFUE-9YqupJ-5xS4xE-wqoBQ-8CMD9P-7erYPR-b9xF1-9HXGYE-JzjuB-bUHrXa-92saU-75dzRW-e5NfKv-dodUBM-c8aVUW-4VAMGs-bs1fes-cSWgM-6p1LkQ-6T9fQ3-ahjXEK-5MUzNh-9NERVS-gF9q4s-9iPPE2-c3HUcG-4S17ci-6riRgJ-cRxAKE">jungle gym</a>] ." </p>
<p>Flickr had also been tagging some images of people as "ape" and "animal," including a <a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/thirteenthfloormedia/14570569401">photo of a black man</a> ] named William taken by photographer Corey Deshon, according to <a href="[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/20/flickr-complaints-offensive-auto-tagging-photos">the Guardian</a>]. </p>
<p>Flickr has since corrected both of those mistakes, but the concentration camp errors remain. </p>
<p>Flickr noted that deleting incorrect tags teaches the new algorithm to learn from its mistake and improve its results in the future. The company also noted that Flickr staff does not personally tag photos -- it's all automated. </p>
* [http://petapixel.com/2015/05/20/flickr-fixing-racist-auto-tagging-feature-after-black-man-mislabeled-ape/ Flickr Fixing ‘Racist’ Auto-Tagging Feature After Black Man Mislabeled ‘Ape’]
* [http://www.cnet.com/news/flickr-misfires-with-automated-photo-tags/ Flickr misfires with automated photo tags]
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