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Google Photos Mislabels Black Individuals as Gorillas

Jun 29, 2015Brooklyn, NY, USA1 source

Summary

In June 2015, Google Photos mislabeled a photo of a Black man and his Black female friend as 'gorillas,' sparking public backlash. Jacky Alciné, a Brooklyn programmer, brought attention to the issue via social media, prompting a response from Google's Chief Architect of Social, Yonatan Zunger, who requested access to Alciné's photo for investigation. The incident highlighted racial bias in Google's image recognition algorithm.

Incident Details

Domain
Algorithmic Discrimination

Automated systems that produce discriminatory outcomes based on protected characteristics.

Harm Types
Discrimination

Differential treatment or outcomes based on protected characteristics.

Hiring Bias
Platforms
Google Photos
Companies

Who Was Affected

Age
Adult
Gender
Male, Female
Group
Racial/Ethnic Minority