tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/google-search-128745/articlesGoogle search – The Conversation2023-09-03T20:02:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2123672023-09-03T20:02:50Z2023-09-03T20:02:50ZGoogle turns 25: the search engine revolutionised how we access information, but will it survive AI?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545886/original/file-20230901-27-6t1m2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C17%2C3976%2C1976&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergio28/2839726384/">Flickr/sergio m mahugo, Edited by The Conversation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today marks an important milestone in the history of the internet: Google’s 25th birthday. With billions of search queries submitted each day, it’s difficult to remember how we ever lived without the search engine. </p>
<p>What was it about Google that led it to revolutionise information access? And will artificial intelligence (AI) make it obsolete, or enhance it? </p>
<p>Let’s look at how our access to information has changed through the decades – and where it might lead as advanced AI and Google Search become increasingly entwined.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Google’s homepage in 1998.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brent Payne/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>1950s: public libraries as community hubs</h2>
<p>In the years following the second world war, it became <a href="https://www.yfanefa.com/record/2585">generally accepted</a> that a successful post-war city was one that could provide civic capabilities – and that included open access to information. </p>
<p>So in the 1950s information in Western countries was primarily provided by local libraries. Librarians themselves were a kind of “human search engine”. They answered phone queries from businesses and responded to letters – helping people find information quickly and accurately. </p>
<p>Libraries were more than just a place to borrow books. They were where parents went to look for health information, where tourists requested travel tips, and where businesses sought marketing advice. </p>
<p>The searching was free, but required librarians’ support, as well as a significant amount of labour and catalogue-driven processes. Questions we can now solve in minutes took hours, days or even weeks to answer.</p>
<h2>1990s: the rise of paid search services</h2>
<p>By the 1990s, libraries had expanded to include personal computers and online access to information services. Commercial search companies thrived as libraries could access information through expensive subscription services.</p>
<p>These systems were so complex that only trained specialists could search, with consumers paying for results. Dialog, developed at Lockheed Martin in the 1960s, remains one of the best examples. Today it claims to <a href="https://clarivate.com/products/dialog-family/">provide its customers access</a> “to over 1.7 billion records across more than 140 databases of peer-reviewed literature”.</p>
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<span class="caption">This photo from 1979 shows librarians at the terminals of online retrieval system Dialog.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">U.S. National Archives</span></span>
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<p>Another commercial search system, The Financial Times’ FT PROFILE, enabled access to articles in every UK broadsheet newspaper over a five-year period. </p>
<p>But searching with it wasn’t simple. Users had to remember typed commands to select a collection, using specific words to reduce the list of documents returned. Articles were ordered by date, leaving the reader to scan for the most relevant items.</p>
<p>FT PROFILE made valuable information rapidly accessible to people outside business circles, but at a high price. In the 1990s access cost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024396">£1.60 a minute</a> – the equivalent of £4.65 (or A$9.00) today.</p>
<h2>The rise of Google</h2>
<p>Following the world wide web’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/30/1172276538/world-wide-web-internet-anniversary#">launch in 1993</a>, the number of websites grew exponentially.</p>
<p>Libraries provided public web access, and services such as the State Library of Victoria’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicnet">Vicnet</a> offered low-cost access for organisations. Librarians taught users to find information online and build websites. However, the complex search systems struggled with exploding volumes of content and high numbers of new users.</p>
<p>In 1994, the book <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Managing_Gigabytes_Compressing_and_Index.html?id=q_9RAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">Managing Gigabytes</a>, penned by three New Zealand computer scientists, presented solutions for this problem. Since <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6182576/">the 1950s</a> researchers had imagined a search engine that was fast, accessible to all, and which sorted documents by relevance.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, a Silicon Valley startup began to apply this knowledge – Larry Page and Sergey Brin used the principles in Managing Gigabytes to design Google’s iconic architecture.</p>
<p>After launching on September 4 1998, the Google revolution was in motion. People loved the simplicity of the search box, as well as a novel presentation of results that <a href="https://hughewilliams.com/2012/04/02/snippets-the-unsung-heroes-of-web-search/">summarised</a> how the retrieved pages matched the query.</p>
<p>In terms of functionality, Google Search was effective for a few reasons. It used the innovative approach of delivering results by counting web links in a page (a process called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank">PageRank</a>). But more importantly, its algorithm was very sophisticated; it not only matched search queries with the text within a page, but also with other text linking to that page (this was called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_text">anchor text</a>).</p>
<p>Google’s popularity quickly surpassed competitors such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/so-farewell-then-altavista-we-hardly-knew-ye-15740">AltaVista</a> and Yahoo Search. With more than 85% of the market share today, it remains the most popular search engine. </p>
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<p>As the web expanded, however, access costs were contested. </p>
<p>Although consumers now search Google for free, payment is required to download certain articles and books. Many consumers still rely on libraries – while libraries themselves struggle with the rising costs of purchasing material to provide to the public for free.</p>
<h2>What will the next 25 years bring?</h2>
<p>Google has expanded far beyond Search. Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Pixel devices and other services show Google’s reach is vast. </p>
<p>With the introduction of AI tools, including Google’s Bard and the recently announced <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/google-gemini-is-a-serious-threat-to-chatgpt-heres-why">Gemini</a> (a direct competitor to ChatGPT), Google is set to revolutionise search once again. </p>
<p>As Google continues to roll <a href="https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/">generative AI capabilities into Search</a>, it will become common to read a quick information summary at the top of the results page, rather than dig for information yourself. A key challenge will be ensuring people don’t become complacent to the point that they blindly trust the generated outputs. </p>
<p>Fact-checking against original sources will remain as important as ever. After all, we have seen generative AI tools such as ChatGPT make headlines due to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-tools-are-generating-convincing-misinformation-engaging-with-them-means-being-on-high-alert-202062">hallucinations</a>” and misinformation.</p>
<p>If inaccurate or incomplete search summaries aren’t revised, or are further paraphrased and presented without source material, the misinformation problem will only get worse. </p>
<p>Moreover, even if AI tools revolutionise search, they may fail to revolutionise access. As the AI industry grows, we’re seeing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/everyones-having-a-field-day-with-chatgpt-but-nobody-knows-how-it-actually-works-196378">shift towards</a> content only being accessible for a fee, or through paid subscriptions.</p>
<p>The rise of AI provides an opportunity to revisit the tensions between public access and increasingly powerful commercial entities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-cost-of-the-ai-boom-social-and-environmental-exploitation-208669">The hidden cost of the AI boom: social and environmental exploitation</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Sanderson receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Google Australia has contributed funding to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, which he leads. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kieran Hegarty receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology through a Digital Humanism Junior Visiting Fellowship at the Institute for Human Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa M. Given receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology.</span></em></p>It’s hard to remember life before Google, when the closest thing to it was your local librarian. Soon the search engine will be offering AI-based summaries in its search results.Mark Sanderson, Professor of Information Retrieval, RMIT UniversityJulian Thomas, Distinguished Professor of Media and Communications; Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT UniversityKieran Hegarty, Research Fellow (Automated Decision-Making Systems), RMIT UniversityLisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2120962023-08-24T06:53:49Z2023-08-24T06:53:49ZBushfires focus public attention on climate change for months, but it’s different for storms and floods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544457/original/file-20230824-19-tr3btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C12%2C2717%2C1815&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bush-fire-close-night-47274046">VanderWolf Images, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the world warms and the climate changes, people are experiencing more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Just this year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">heatwaves blasted southern Europe</a>, the United States and China; wildfires lit up Greece, Canada and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-sleepwalking-a-bushfire-scientist-explains-what-the-hawaii-tragedy-means-for-our-flammable-continent-211364">Maui in Hawaii</a>; and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64061588">winter storms froze large parts of the US</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-023-03601-5">new research</a> explores the connection between extreme weather events in Australia and public interest in climate change or global warming between 2009 and 2020. We found that bushfires, storms and floods tended to focus attention on climate change. But, crucially, the effect was short-lived and varied depending on the type of weather event. </p>
<p>In between extreme events, the level of interest in climate change does not appear to be increasing over time. This is despite developments in the science attributing extreme weather events to climate change, and the growing
<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2019.1687537?src=recsys">tendency of the media</a> to make these connections. </p>
<p>Climate activists and policymakers may be able to use these “focusing events” to raise awareness and harness support for stronger action. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s how climate change is affecting Australian weather.</span></figcaption>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-climate-records-breaking-all-at-once-209214">Why are so many climate records breaking all at once?</a>
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<h2>Do bushfires, storms and floods garner attention?</h2>
<p>We collected data on extreme weather events from the <a href="https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/">Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub</a>, which is managed by the <a href="https://www.aidr.org.au/">Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience</a>. </p>
<p>We concentrated on the bushfires, storms and floods that occurred in Australia between 2008 and 2020.</p>
<p>Using the <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/">Google Trends</a> intensity index to measure people’s attention, we analysed the use of the search terms “climate change” and “global warming” in the months following each event.</p>
<p>We found more searches for climate change and global warming during the month of, and immediately after, an extreme weather event. </p>
<p>However, such heightened attention was rather short-lived. And there were differences in the intensity and duration of this attention, depending on the type of weather event. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683">Yes, climate change is bringing bushfires more often. But some ecosystems in Australia are suffering the most</a>
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<p>Major bushfires generated intense and sustained interest. During the month of a major bushfire, attention to climate change increased. The level of attention was higher still one month after the bushfire, and remained elevated for about four months. </p>
<p>Extreme storms prompted the most intense search activity but the effect did not last long. Attention to climate change dissipated one month after the storm. </p>
<p>Major flooding events did not appear to generate significant attention to climate change. This suggests Australians are more likely to think of climate change in terms of its tendency to cause hotter, drier weather, and less inclined to appreciate how it can cause wetter weather as well. </p>
<p>Although there is a growing trend within the media to underscore the connection between extreme weather events and climate change over the past decade, this does not seem to be generating more climate attention. For instance, while the Black Summer bushfires drove an exceptional uptick in climate attention, the same occurred during the Black Saturday bushfires a decade earlier.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-climate-change-isnt-always-to-blame-for-extreme-rainfall-206958">Here's why climate change isn't always to blame for extreme rainfall</a>
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<h2>It’s worth paying attention to attention</h2>
<p>Australia has been described as “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-change-and-the-end-of-australia-238860/">the petri-dish of climate change</a>”. Our continent is prone to a variety of severe climate impacts such as droughts, floods, fires, storms and coral bleaching, and yet we’re also one of the world’s worst <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2021.1905394">climate laggards</a>.</p>
<p>Understanding how Australians respond to extreme weather events could serve as a much-needed catalyst for national climate progress. </p>
<p>But increased climate ambition is not guaranteed to flow from these destructive events. That’s because climate attention is quite short-lived, and not always as intense as one might hope. </p>
<p>We believe our research can help activists and policymakers capitalise on the increased intensity and duration of public interest in climate change following extreme events and translate that attention into a sustained appetite for climate policy action. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fear-and-wonder-podcast-how-scientists-attribute-extreme-weather-events-to-climate-change-203559">Fear and Wonder podcast: how scientists attribute extreme weather events to climate change</a>
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<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-822" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/822/cfe1cb0d01c023aeef001dac6a65f27fcee4c0bb/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Crellin receives funding from Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert MacNeil does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Public interest in climate change and global warming peaks after bushfires and lasts for months, research reveals. But Australians do not respond to storms and floods in the same way.Christopher Crellin, PhD Student / FNRS Aspirant, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)Robert MacNeil, Lecturer in Environmental Politics, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816842022-05-11T19:33:38Z2022-05-11T19:33:38ZLanguage matters when Googling controversial people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462499/original/file-20220511-12-njtrdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C2969&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Google's search results often misidentify controversial characters, potentially contributing to the spread of misinformation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Nathana Rebouças/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the useful features of search engines like Google is the autocomplete function that enables users to find fast answers to their questions or queries. However, autocomplete search functions are based on ambiguous algorithms that have been widely criticized because they often provide <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479837243/algorithms-of-oppression/">biased and racist results</a>.</p>
<p>The ambiguity of these algorithm stems from the fact that most of us know very little about them — which has led some to refer to them as “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674970847">black boxes</a>.” Search engines and social media platforms do not offer any meaningful insight or details on the nature of the algorithms they employ. As users, we have the right to know the criteria used to produce search results and how they are customized for individual users, including how people are labelled by Google’s search engine algorithms.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Safiya Noble, author of <em>Algorithms of Oppression</em>, explores bias in algorithms.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To do so, we can use a reverse engineering process, conducting multiple online searches on a specific platform to better understand the rules that are in place. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2019.101280">the hashtag #fentanyl can be presently searched and used on Twitter, but it is not allowed to be used on Instagram</a>, indicating the kind of rules that are available on each platform.</p>
<h2>Automated information</h2>
<p>When searching for celebrities using Google, there is often a brief subtitle and thumbnail picture associated with the person that is automatically generated by Google.</p>
<p>Our recent research showed how <a href="https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2852">Google’s search engine normalizes conspiracy theorists, hate figures and other controversial people by offering neutral and even sometimes positive subtitles</a>. We used virtual private networks (VPNs) to conceal our locations and hide our browsing histories to ensure that search results were not based on our geographical location or search histories. </p>
<p>We found, for example, that Alex Jones, “<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/alex-jones">the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America</a>,” is defined as an “American radio host,” while David Icke, <a href="https://www.poynter.org/?ifcn_misinformation=in-a-youtube-clip-david-icke-who-is-known-for-promoting-conspiracy-theories-presents-himself-as-a-researcher-and-claims-that-the-covid-19-pandemic-was-orchestrated-by-supernatural-forces-attempting">who is also known for spreading conspiracies</a>, is described as a “former footballer.” These terms are considered by Google as the defining characteristics of these individuals and can mislead the public. </p>
<h2>Dynamic descriptors</h2>
<p>In the short time since our research was conducted in the fall of 2021, search results seem to have changed.</p>
<p>I found that some of the subtitles that we originally identified, have been either modified, removed or replaced. For example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/24/norway-gunman-not-guilty-plea">the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik</a> was subtitled “Convicted criminal,” yet now there is no label associated with him. </p>
<p>Faith Goldy, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/04/08/facebook-bans-faith-goldy-canadian-white-nationalist-groups-in-latest-crackdown.html">the far-right Canadian white nationalist who was banned from Facebook for spreading hate speech</a>, did not have a subtitle. Now however, her new Google subtitle is “Canadian commentator.” </p>
<p>There is no indication of what a commentator suggests. The same observation is found in relation to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/his-kampf/524505/">American white supremacist Richard B. Spencer</a>. Spencer did not have a label a few months ago, but is now an “American editor,” which certainly does not characterize his legacy.</p>
<p>Another change relates to Lauren Southern, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/10/alt-right-star-racist-propagandist-has-no-regrets/616725/">a Canadian far-right member</a>, who was labelled as a “Canadian activist,” a somewhat positive term, but is now described as a “Canadian author.” </p>
<p>The seemingly random subtitle changes show that the programming of the algorithmic black boxes is not static, but changes based on several indicators that are still unknown to us. </p>
<h2>Searching in Arabic vs. English</h2>
<p>A second important new finding from our research is related to the differences in the subtitle results based on the selected language search. I speak and read Arabic, so I changed the language setting and searched for the same figures to understand how they are described in Arabic.</p>
<p>To my surprise, I found several major differences between English and Arabic. Once again, there was nothing negative in describing some of the figures that I searched for. Alex Jones becomes a “TV presenter of talk shows,” and Lauren Southern is erroneously described as a “politician.” </p>
<p>And there’s much more from the Arabic language searches: Faith Goldy becomes an “expert,” David Icke transforms from a “former footballer” into an “author” and Jake Angeli, the “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/11/17/jake-angeli-jacob-chansley-qanon-shaman-sentenced-role-jan-6-raid/8652784002/">QAnon shaman</a>” becomes an “actor” in Arabic and an “American activist” in English.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two google searches with search suggestions for Faith Goldy, in English and Arabic" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462570/original/file-20220511-21-w1woq1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When the search setting language is changed from English (left) to Arabic (right), searches for Faith Goldy show different results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ahmed Al-Rawi)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Richard B. Spencer becomes a “publisher” and Dan Bongino, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/youtube-permanently-bans-fox-news-host-dan-bongino-evading-covid-misin-rcna13780">a conspiracist permanently banned from YouTube</a>, transforms from an “American radio host” in English to a “politician” in Arabic. Interestingly, <a href="https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/2022/05/07/fights-break-out-at-tommy-robinson-demo-in-telford/">the far-right figure, Tommy Robinson,</a> is described as a “British-English political activist” in English but has no subtitle in Arabic. </p>
<h2>Misleading labels</h2>
<p>What we can infer from these language differences is that these descriptors are insufficient, because they condense one’s description to one or a few words that can be misleading.</p>
<p>Understanding how algorithms function is important, especially as misinformation and distrust are on the rise and as conspiracy theories are still spreading rapidly. We also need more insight into how Google and other search engines work — it is important to hold these companies accountable for their biased and ambiguous algorithms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181684/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ahmed Al-Rawi receives funding from the Department of Heritage, the Digital Citizen Initiative.</span></em></p>Google search algorithms often pull up misleading descriptors for controversial people, and results can differ across languages. Understanding how these algorithms function can address misinformation.Ahmed Al-Rawi, Assistant Professor, News, Social Media, and Public Communication, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782542022-03-30T12:39:17Z2022-03-30T12:39:17ZBlack Lives Matter protests are shaping how people understand racial inequality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453694/original/file-20220322-25-d16xbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists participate in a march urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/activists-participate-in-the-march-on-for-washington-and-news-photo/1234922545?adppopup=true">Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Considered to be the largest social justice movement since the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement">civil rights era</a> of the 1960s, <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/">Black Lives Matter</a> is more than the scores of street protests organized by the social justice group that attracted hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across the world.</p>
<p>From its early days in 2014 after <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/michael-brown-ferguson-missouri-timeline/14051827/">Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown, Jr.</a> to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-floyd-black-lives-matter-impact/">the protests</a> following the murder of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html">George Floyd</a> in 2020, Black Lives Matter has opened the door for social change by expanding the way we think about the complicated issues that involve race. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://soc.washington.edu/people/jelani-ince">sociologists</a> who study how protests lay the groundwork for social change, we understand their necessity as a tactic to draw attention toward a movement’s broader agenda.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2117320119">study</a> published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we found that the Black Lives Matter was able to shift attention away from its protests and toward its agenda of building an anti-racist society. </p>
<p>Our report further revealed that Black Lives Matter has changed how people learn about specific issues that involve race, such as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/opinions/biden-urgency-racialized-police-violence-zelizer/index.html">police violence</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/7/13/8913297/mass-incarceration-maps-charts">mass incarceration</a> and other <a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/GLOBAL-RACE/USA/nmopajawjva/">systemic problems in Black communities</a> that would be intolerable in other communities.</p>
<h2>Spikes in anti-racist searches</h2>
<p>Social change, such as the anti-slavery movement in the 19th century, is not represented only by new legislation or Supreme Court decisions. It is also found in the public’s ideas and conversations: what you and I think and talk about. </p>
<p>When people engage with a movement, such as joining a protest, they are more likely to learn about the movement’s aspirations and plans to achieve their goals. In this way, protest opens the door for social change.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Thousands of protesters are sitting down in the middle of street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453684/original/file-20220322-14897-1um7ism.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this June 2020 photograph, a massive group of protesters is seated on the ground in New York City in a peaceful protest of the killing of George Floyd.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/massive-group-of-protesters-sit-on-the-ground-at-foley-news-photo/1244256709?adppopup=true">Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our digital age, researchers can measure what people are thinking about by analyzing activity on public internet platforms like <a href="https://www.google.com/">Google</a>, <a href="https://www.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>. Social researchers can quantitatively measure social media activity and see how it changes over time and in response to particular events, such as Black Lives Matter protests.</p>
<p>Our study examined how street demonstrations facilitated an important initial step in creating social change: changing the way people think. Based on our research, we found that people began thinking about racism from a broader and deeper perspective.</p>
<p>We conducted a large-scale quantitative analysis of news media, Google searches, Wikipedia page visits and Twitter from 2014 to 2020 to build a picture of the movement’s impact on how Americans and the world understand the conditions of Black life in the U.S. over the past century. </p>
<p>Though Google doesn’t share the actual number of people who search on its platform, the total number is estimated to be in the billions. For our data set of searched words and phrases, that number is likely to be as much as in the hundreds of millions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Thousands of people are marching in the street and carrying signs that demand an end to racism." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453691/original/file-20220322-25-1kajyio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of protesters march on World Anti-Racism Day on March 19, 2022, in London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thousands-of-protestors-march-from-the-bbc-building-in-news-photo/1386503532?adppopup=true">Guy Smallman/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that during Black Lives Matter protests, digital search users think and talk about racial ideas, such as <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/15/systemic-racism-what-does-mean/5343549002/">systemic racism</a>, <a href="https://newjimcrow.com/about-the-author">Michelle Alexander’s</a> book “<a href="https://newjimcrow.com/">The New Jim Crow</a>” and <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/glossary-terms/white-supremacy">white supremacy</a>, up to 100 times more than they did in the weeks before the protests. </p>
<p>Over the years these spikes grew larger and included more diverse ideas. </p>
<p>In 2014 and 2015, for instance, we saw people using Google to search terms about police shootings and past victims of police homicide. </p>
<p>But in 2020 the search terms were much broader and included ideas like <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/what-is-prison-abolition/">prison abolition</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/what-is-redlining.html">redlining</a> – the discriminatory practice by banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions that resulted in segregated neighborhoods. </p>
<p>Importantly, the ideas that come into the public consciousness during protest don’t simply disappear. They stick around. We found that six months after the 2020 George Floyd protests, social media searches of terms such as systemic racism and white supremacy were considerably higher than before the protests.</p>
<iframe src="https://public.tableau.com/views/BLMmarchesandonlinesearches/Chart?:language=en-US&publish=yes&:display_count=n&:origin=viz_share_link&:showVizHome=no&:embed=true" width="100%" height="700"></iframe>
<h2>Social change?</h2>
<p>After the murder of Floyd, journalists and researchers alike proclaimed that the United States was experiencing a “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/americas-racial-reckoning">racial reckoning</a>.”</p>
<p>To understand the full scope of the reckoning and the possibility for change, it is important to know how people make sense of these events. </p>
<p>Large-scale digital data from platforms like Google, Wikipedia and Twitter shows us which ideas are attracting attention and when this attention is sustained. </p>
<p>In a sense, protests help create a “new normal,” in which anti-racism is an increasingly common way to talk about inequalities in American society.</p>
<p>The pathway toward change is not always simple. </p>
<p>Activists such as those in Black Lives Matter want people to rethink social problems, and many contemporary problems are rooted in historical failures to produce a just society.</p>
<p>The participants in the demonstrations of 2020 have an advantage that previous generations of activists did not: They witnessed the shortcomings of past civil rights movements, as well as the limits of modern-day efforts to teach diversity and inclusion in the workplace.</p>
<p>Certainly, increased attention does not always bring positive results.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three people are holding signs that read Black Lives Matter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453687/original/file-20220322-23-5u8b3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters demonstrate on Dec. 4, 2014, against the chokehold death of Eric Garner by a white police officer in New York City.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/protesters-stand-in-foley-square-in-new-york-city-on-news-photo/459960058?adppopup=true">Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study also investigates the rise in opposition that overlapped with BLM attention.</p>
<p>On Twitter, hashtags such as “#AllLivesMatter” and “#WhiteLivesMatter” increased during BLM protests and periods of reactionary right-wing protest, such as the Unite the Right <a href="https://time.com/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-clashes/">rally in Charlottesville</a>, Virginia.</p>
<p>We found that countermovement activity did not decrease attention to the BLM movement and was always dwarfed by BLM-related social media activity. During the peak of the George Floyd protests in May and June 2020, for instance, there were about 750,000 #BlackLivesMatter tweets per day, compared with about 20,000 #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter. </p>
<p>The trend continued as time passed. In December 2020, #BlackLivesMatter tweets were posted about 10,000 times per day, compared with fewer than 1,000 for #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter. </p>
<p>The data suggests that the Black Lives Matter movement is having a lasting impact – as are the group’s ideas. </p>
<p>[<em>There’s plenty of opinion out there. We supply facts and analysis, based in research.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=politics&source=inline-politics-no-opinion">Get The Conversation’s Politics Weekly</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jelani Ince works for The University of Washington.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zackary Dunivin works for Indiana University and has received funding from the National Science Foundation. Zackary Dunivin has attended BLM protests in a personal capacity</span></em></p>The Black Lives Matter movement is having a lasting impact on the racial reckoning in the US that was triggered after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in 2020.Jelani Ince, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of WashingtonZackary Dunivin, PhD Student in Sociology and Complex Systems, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790992022-03-27T19:12:14Z2022-03-27T19:12:14ZThere is, in fact, a ‘wrong’ way to use Google. Here are 5 tips to set you on the right path<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454072/original/file-20220324-21-h22dff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C5%2C3902%2C2937&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I was recently reading comments on a post related to COVID-19, and saw a reply I would classify as misinformation, bordering on conspiracy. I couldn’t help but ask the commenter for evidence. </p>
<p>Their response came with some web links and “do your own research”. I then asked about their research methodology, which turned out to be searching for specific terms on Google. </p>
<p>As an academic, I was intrigued. Academic research aims to establish the truth of a phenomenon based on evidence, analysis and peer review. </p>
<p>On the other hand, a search on Google provides links with content written by known or unknown authors, who may or may not have knowledge in that area, based on a ranking system that either follows the preferences of the user, or the collective popularity of certain sites. </p>
<p>In other words, Google’s algorithms can penalise the truth for not being popular. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/algorithms">Google Search’s</a> ranking system has a <a href="https://youtu.be/tFq6Q_muwG0">fraction of a second</a> to sort through hundreds of billions of web pages, and index them to find the most relevant and (ideally) useful information. </p>
<p>Somewhere along the way, mistakes get made. And it’ll be a while before these algorithms become foolproof – if ever. Until then, what can you do to make sure you’re not getting the short end of the stick?</p>
<h2>One question, millions of answers</h2>
<p>There are around <a href="https://morningscore.io/how-does-google-rank-websites/">201 known factors</a> on which a website is analysed and ranked by Google’s algorithms. Some of the main ones are:</p>
<ul>
<li>the specific key words used in the search</li>
<li>the meaning of the key words </li>
<li>the relevance of the web page, as assessed by the ranking algorithm<br></li>
<li>the “quality” of the contents </li>
<li>the usability of the web page </li>
<li>and user-specific factors such as their location and profiling data taken from connected Google products, including Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-013-9321-6">Research has shown</a> users pay more attention to higher-ranked results on the first page. And there are known ways to ensure a website makes it to the first page. </p>
<p>One of these is “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization">search engine optimisation</a>”, which can help a web page float into the top results even if its content isn’t necessarily quality. </p>
<p>The other issue is Google Search results <a href="https://mcculloughwebservices.com/2021/01/07/why-google-results-look-different-for-everyone/">are different for different people</a>, sometimes even if they have the exact same search query. </p>
<p>Results are tailored to the user conducting the search. In his book <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/181/181850/the-filter-bubble/9780241954522.html">The Filter Bubble</a>, Eli Pariser points out the dangers of this – especially when the topic is of a controversial nature. </p>
<p>Personalised search results create alternate versions of the flow of information. Users receive more of what they’ve already engaged with (which is likely also what they already believe). </p>
<p>This leads to a dangerous cycle which can further polarise people’s views, and in which more searching doesn’t necessarily mean getting closer to the truth.</p>
<h2>A work in progress</h2>
<p>While Google Search is a brilliant search engine, it’s also a work in progress. Google is <a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2020/04/a-scalable-approach-to-reducing-gender.html">continuously addressing various issues</a> related to its performance. </p>
<p>One major challenge relates to societal biases <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/artificial-intelligence-is-demonstrating-gender-bias-and-its-our-fault">concerning race and gender</a>. For example, searching Google Images for “truck driver” or “president” returns images of mostly men, whereas “model” and “teacher” returns images of mostly women. </p>
<p>While the results may represent what has <em>historically</em> been true (such as in the case of male presidents), this isn’t always the same as what is <em>currently</em> true – let alone representative of the world we wish to live in.</p>
<p>Some years ago, Google <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16882408/google-racist-gorillas-photo-recognition-algorithm-ai">reportedly</a> had to block its image recognition algorithms from identifying “gorillas”, after they began classifying images of black people with the term. </p>
<p>Another issue highlighted by health practitioners relates to people <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/please-stop-using-doctor-google-dangerous">self diagnosing based on symptoms</a>. It’s estimated about <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja2.50600">40% of Australians</a> search online for self diagnoses, and there are about 70,000 health-related searches conducted on Google each minute. </p>
<p>There can be serious repercussions for those who <a href="https://www.medicaldirector.com/press/new-study-reveals-the-worrying-impact-of-doctor-google-in-australia">incorrectly interpret</a> information found through “<a href="https://www.ideas.org.au/blogs/dr-google-should-you-trust-it.html">Dr Google</a>” – not to mention what this means in the midst of a pandemic. </p>
<p>Google has delivered a plethora of COVID misinformation related to unregistered medicines, fake cures, mask effectiveness, contact tracing, lockdowns and, of course, vaccines. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.ajtmh.org/view/journals/tpmd/103/4/article-p1621.xml">one study</a>, an estimated 6,000 hospitalisations and 800 deaths during the first few months of the pandemic were attributable to misinformation (specifically the false claim that <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/hundreds-dead-in-iran-after-drinking-methanol-to-cure-virus/12192582">drinking methanol can cure COVID</a>).</p>
<p>To combat this, <a href="https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/how-search-engines-disseminate-information-about-covid-19-and-why-they-should-do-better/">Google eventually prioritised</a> authoritative sources in its search results. But there’s only so much Google can do. </p>
<p>We each have a responsibility to make sure we’re thinking critically about the information we come across. What can you do to make sure you’re asking Google the best question for the answer you need?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-google-getting-worse-increased-advertising-and-algorithm-changes-may-make-it-harder-to-find-what-youre-looking-for-166966">Is Google getting worse? Increased advertising and algorithm changes may make it harder to find what you're looking for</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to Google smarter</h2>
<p>In summary, a Google Search user must be aware of the following facts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Google Search will bring you the top-ranked web pages which are also the most relevant to your search terms. Your results will be as good as your terms, so always consider context and how the inclusion of certain terms might affect the result. </p></li>
<li><p>You’re better off starting with a <a href="https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/134479?hl=enr">simple search</a>, and adding more descriptive terms later. For instance, which of the following do you think is a more effective question: “<em>will hydroxychloroquine help cure my COVID?</em>” or “<em>what is hydroxychloroquine used for?</em>”</p></li>
<li><p>Quality content comes from verified (or verifiable) sources. While scouring through results, look at the individual URLs and think about whether that source holds much authority (for instance, is it a government website?). Continue this process once you’re in the page, too, always checking for author credentials and information sources.</p></li>
<li><p>Google may personalise your results based on your previous search history, current location and interests (gleaned through other products such as Gmail, YouTube or Maps). You can use <a href="https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop">incognito mode</a> to prevent these factors from impacting your search results.</p></li>
<li><p>Google Search isn’t the only option. And you don’t just have to leave your reading to the discretion of its algorithms. There are several other search engines available, including <a href="https://www.bing.com/">Bing</a>, <a href="https://au.yahoo.com/">Yahoo</a>, <a href="https://www.baidu.com/">Baidu</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/">DuckDuckGo</a> and <a href="https://www.ecosia.org/">Ecosia</a>. Sometimes it’s good to triangulate your results from outside the filter bubble. </p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-competition-watchdog-says-google-has-a-monopoly-on-online-advertising-but-how-does-it-work-168939">Australia's competition watchdog says Google has a monopoly on online advertising — but how does it work?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Muneera Bano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are around 201 known factors on which a website is analysed and ranked by Google’s algorithms.Muneera Bano, Senior Lecturer, Software Engineering, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1748492022-01-24T16:03:15Z2022-01-24T16:03:15ZFear of COVID-19 and fear of change are dangerously intertwined for 2022<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440792/original/file-20220113-1519-1exdww2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C6669%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At the end of 2021 there was a correlation between worldwide Google searches for the term "fear of change" and "fear of COVID."</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Omicron has renewed <a href="https://abacusdata.ca/covid-anxiety-worry-omicron/">people’s fear of COVID-19</a>, while at the same time starkly surfacing our other embedded fear — <a href="https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/science-says-this-is-why-you-fear-change-and-what-to-do-about-it.html">fear of change</a>. </p>
<p>In looking at Google Trends, my research shows that at the end of 2021 people googled “fear of COVID” and “fear of change” at rivalling rates. This result projects an increasingly widespread Omicron-driven fear accompanied by an increasing and intertwined fear of change.</p>
<p>As they inextricably entwine, fear of change and fear of COVID-19 are foreshadowing a year of intense “<a href="https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/fight-flight-freeze/">fight, flight and freeze</a>.”</p>
<p>As a change management scholar, over the years a few simple clichés have sustained themselves. Generally, we hate change because it shakes up the status quo, predictability and our naive sense of control. Clinical psychologist <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/i-fear-change-how-to-cope-with-the-unknown-5189851">Carla Maria Manly says</a>, “Our brains are hardwired to prefer routine and consistency.”</p>
<p>The pandemic has shaken up many of our routines, feelings or normalcy and ability to maintain consistency. So as people continue Googling “fear of COVID” and “fear of change” at rivalling rates, we need to think about their impacts and how we can get out of this fear cycle. </p>
<h2>Trying to control change</h2>
<p>For a long time, we have been told to embrace linear, mechanistic thinking that teaches what happened before will likely happen again, and so old solutions work best for new problems. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, COVID-19 has turned that thinking on its head. We fear COVID-19 because of its befuddling failure to be controlled, the way its changed our lives and the risk of illness and death.</p>
<p>An article published in <em>Frontiers in Psychiatry</em>, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.708430">Fear of COVID-19 Infection Across Different Cohorts: A Scoping Review</a>,” put it succinctly by stating studies identified “various domains of fear related to the fear of COVID-19 infection.” These included, “fear of oneself or their family members getting infected, fear of having economic losses and being unemployed, or fear of avoidance behaviours toward gaining knowledge about the pandemic,” as well as “fear of making decisions [about actions like] whether to visit parents or not, whether to look for information on death rates or not, etc.”</p>
<p>But perhaps it shouldn’t be so scary. If we think of COVID-19, <a href="https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/flatten-fear-facts-what-appropriate-level-covid">we can flatten the fear with facts</a>, and when it comes to change, consider how its been around for billions of years. </p>
<p>Instead of trying to control change, we should take solace from organizational consultant William Bridges who looks at events in our lives more <a href="https://wmbridges.com/about/what-is-transition/">as psychological “transitions” than change</a>, where we let go of how things were (endings), and enter a “neutral zone” of “creating new processes and learning” often feeling confusion and distress. </p>
<p>According to Bridges, beginnings involve new understandings, values and attitudes. He’s offering a process for accepting that yesterday’s solutions, cultures, structures and systems are no longer applicable — a means of letting go.</p>
<p>The big question is whether we can let go of yesterday, experience deep reflection and start a new beginning. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration of a woman look up into a bunch of different versions of herself." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440785/original/file-20220113-17-j2ztht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Instead of trying to control change we should see it as a transition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2022 and the fear ahead</h2>
<p>Fear is an excellent accelerator for those with specific agendas, for those with divisive intentions and for those fiercely protecting their own definition of status quo. </p>
<p>In my doctoral work on public protests, I found an ocean of reviewed literature on <a href="https://fbaum.unc.edu/teaching/articles/AnnRevSoc-2000-Benford.pdf">how a state of fear can trigger anger</a>, outrage, a demand for action, a disintegration of trust and even civility. </p>
<p>Today, we are very afraid. </p>
<p>A public opinion poll by Ipsos in December 2021 showed that in over 28 countries surveyed, <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en/what-worries-world-december-2021">32 per cent of respondents agreed that COVID was</a> the “world’s number-one worry.” </p>
<p>In a study of American Twitter data published in September 2021, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/30854">researchers found that</a> the public trusts the vaccine but are also experiencing a mixture of fear, sadness and anger. </p>
<p>Google Trends provides real-time data for comparing the search terms “fear of change” versus “fear of COVID.” For example, on Jan. 12, 2022, at 2 p.m. PST, the average for all countries was equally 53 per cent for searches about fear of COVID-19 and fear of change. </p>
<h2>What’s in store?</h2>
<p>Forecasting is inherently tricky and as meteorologist Edward Lorenz said, change can be subject to <a href="https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200301/history.cfm">sensitive dependence on initial conditions</a>, meaning even a very small thing can set off a ripple effect of immense consequence.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, Lorenz cautions when it comes to thinking people can nail down a perfectly predictable future based on only what they know and ignoring what they don’t and often can’t know. Short term projections can be OK, longer term not so much. And if people don’t have certainty, they get very uncomfortable and fearful.</p>
<p>As science writer David Robson wrote in the <em>BBC</em>, “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200401-covid-19-how-fear-of-coronavirus-is-changing-our-psychology">the fear of coronavirus is changing our psychology</a>.” He said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Due to some deeply evolved responses to disease, fears of contagion lead us to become more conformist and tribalistic, and less accepting of eccentricity. Our moral judgements become harsher and our social attitudes more conservative when considering issues such as immigration or sexual freedom and equality. Daily reminders of disease may even sway our political affiliations.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, thanks to COVID-19, our fear of all manner of change becomes both magnified and deeply intractable.</p>
<p>So, what to do in the twisted fate of 2022? In my book <em><a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Corporate_Personality_Disorder.html?id=IlhJGQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Corporate Personality Disorder: Surviving and Saving Sick Organizations</a></em> I argued that fear can be explained as an amalgam of powerlessness and the unknown — <a href="https://theconversation.com/feeling-powerless-in-the-covid-19-pandemic-4-principles-of-self-determination-can-help-you-take-back-some-control-174368">COVID-19 has led many of us to feel powerless</a>.</p>
<p>Overcoming this fear, whether it be fear of change or fear of COVID-19 requires personal empowerment and knowledge. But the trick is defining whose power and what knowledge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174849/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eli Sopow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Overcoming this fear requires personal empowerment and knowledge. But the trick is defining whose power and what knowledge.Eli Sopow, Professor of Change Management and Organizational Behavior, University Canada WestLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541782021-01-29T05:13:21Z2021-01-29T05:13:21ZGoogle is leading a vast, covert human experiment. You may be one of the guinea pigs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381255/original/file-20210129-17-4so5r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C26%2C5847%2C3869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On January 13 the <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-blocks-australian-news-in-experiment-20210113-p56tqd">Australian Financial Review reported</a> Google had removed some Australian news content from its search results for some local users. </p>
<p>Speaking to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">the Guardian</a>, a Google spokesperson confirmed the company was “running a few experiments that will each reach about 1% of Google Search users in Australia to measure the impacts of news businesses and Google Search on each other”.</p>
<p>So what are these “experiments”? And how concerned should we be about Google’s actions? </p>
<h2>Engineering our attention</h2>
<p>Google’s experiment (which is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">supposed to run</a> until early February) involves displaying an “alternative” news website ranking for certain Australian users — at least 160,000, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/28/important-stories-hidden-in-googles-experiment-blocking-australian-news-sites">according to</a> The Guardian.</p>
<p>A Google spokesperson told The Conversation the experiment didn’t prevent users (being experimented on) from accessing a news story. Rather, they would not discover the story through Search and would have to access it another way, such as directly on a publisher’s website.</p>
<p>Google’s experiment is a form of “A/B testing”, which classically involves dividing a population randomly in half — into groups A and B — and subjecting each group to a different “stimulus”. </p>
<p>For example, in the case of web design, the two groups may be served different web layouts. This could be done to test changes to layout, the colour scheme or any other element. </p>
<p>Performance in A/B testing is judged on a range of factors, such as which links are clicked first, or the average time spent on a page. If group A perused the site longer than group B, the modification tested on group A may be considered favourable.</p>
<p>In Google’s case, we don’t know the motivation behind the tests. But we do know a small subset of users received different results to the majority and were not alerted.</p>
<p>The experiment has resulted in the promotion of dubious news sources over trusted ones, some of which have been <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121">known to publish</a> disinformation (which intends to mislead) and misinformation (false claims that are spread regardless of intent). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-accc-is-suing-google-for-misleading-millions-but-calling-it-out-is-easier-than-fixing-it-143447">The ACCC is suing Google for misleading millions. But calling it out is easier than fixing it</a>
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<hr>
<p>When asked about this ranking, Google’s spokesperson said it was a “single anecdotal screenshot” and the experiment didn’t “remove results that link to official government departments and agencies”. </p>
<h2>Intent to manipulate</h2>
<p>A/B testing is a widespread practice. It can range from being fairly benign — such as to determine the best location for an advertisement banner — to much more invasive, such as Facebook’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/">infamous mood experiment</a>. </p>
<p>In January 2012, Facebook conducted an experiment on 700,000 users without their knowledge or explicit consent. It adjusted users’ feeds to artificially boost either positive or negative news content. </p>
<p>One reported aim, according to Facebook’s own researchers, was to examine whether emotional states could spread from user to user on the platform. Results were reported in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.</p>
<p>Following the report’s publication, Facebook’s “experiment” was widely condemned by academics, journalists and the public as ethically dubious. It had a specific objective to emotionally manipulate users and didn’t obtain informed consent.</p>
<p>Similarly, it’s unlikely users caught in the midst of Google’s Australian news experiment would realise it. </p>
<p>And while the direct risk to those being tested may seem lower than with Facebook’s mood experiment, tweaking news results on Google Search introduces its own set of risks. As <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/2020/04/30/like-a-virus/">research</a> my colleagues and I has shown, platforms and news media both play a large role in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1329878X20946113">spreading conspiracy theories</a>. </p>
<p>Google tried to downplay the significance of the experiment, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">noting that</a> it conducts “tens of thousands of experiments in Google Search” each year. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t excuse the company from scrutiny. If anything, it’s even more concerning.</p>
<p>Imagine if a police officer pulled you over for speeding and you said: “Well, I speed thousands of times each year, so why should I pay a fine just this one time I’ve been caught?”</p>
<p>If this is just one experiment among of tens of thousands, as Google has admitted, in what other ways have we been manipulated in the past? Without basic disclosures, it’s difficult to know. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A report from the Australian Financial Review said ‘anecdotal evidence’ suggested Google was ‘experimenting with its algorithm to remove stories from Australian news publishers from its search results’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A history of non-disclosure</h2>
<p>This isn’t the first time Google has been caught experimenting on users without adequate disclosure. In 2018, the company <a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html">released Google Duplex</a>, a speech-enabled digital assistant that could purportedly make restaurant and other personal service bookings on a user’s behalf.</p>
<p>In the Duplex <a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html">demos</a>, Google played audio of an AI-enabled speech agent making bookings via conversations with real service workers. What was missing from the calls, however, was a disclosure that the agent opening the call <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/26/18112807/google-duplex-robot-calls-restaurants-businesses-transparency">was a bot</a>, not a human. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/google-duplex-humanlike-voice-raises-ethical-concerns-20180510-h0zw3f">Critics</a> questioned the <a href="https://mashable.com/2018/05/10/google-duplex-disclosures-robot/">deceptiveness of the technology</a>, given its mimicry of human speech.</p>
<p>Google’s <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/04/1013294/google-ai-ethics-research-paper-forced-out-timnit-gebru/">controversial dismissal</a> in December of world-leading AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru (former co-lead of its ethical AI team) cast further shade over the company’s internal culture.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1334341991795142667"}"></div></p>
<h2>What needs to change?</h2>
<p>Digital media platforms including Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon (among others) exert enormous power over our lives. They also have vast <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-tilting-the-political-playing-field-more-than-ever-and-its-no-accident-148314">political influence</a>. </p>
<p>It’s no coincidence Google’s news ranking experiment took place against the backdrop of the escalating news media bargaining code debate, wherein the federal government wants Google and Facebook to negotiate with Australian news providers to pay for using their content. </p>
<p>Google’s spokesperson confirmed the experiment is “directly connected to the need to gather information for use in arbitration proceedings, should the code become law”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-open-letter-is-trying-to-scare-australians-the-company-simply-doesnt-want-to-pay-for-news-144573">Google's 'open letter' is trying to scare Australians. The company simply doesn't want to pay for news</a>
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<hr>
<p>While users benefit from the services big tech provides, we need to appreciate we’re more than mere consumers of these services. The data we forfeit are essential input for the massive algorithmic machinery that runs at the core of enterprises such as Google. </p>
<p>The result is what digital media scholars call an “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1367549415577392">algorithmic culture</a>”. We feed these machines our data and in the process tune them towards our tastes. Meanwhile, they feed us back more things to consume, in a giant <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444815605463">human-machine algorithmic loop</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Large tech enterprises such as Facebook and Google rely on user data to stay afloat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Until recently, we have been uncritical participants in these algorithmic loops and experiments, willing to use “free” services in exchange for our data. But we need to rethink our relationship with platforms and must hold them to a higher standard of accountability. </p>
<p>Governments should mandate minimum standards of disclosure for platforms’ user testing. A/B testing by platforms can still be conducted properly with adequate disclosures, oversight and opt-in options.</p>
<p>In the case of Google, to “<a href="https://www.engadget.com/2015-10-02-alphabet-do-the-right-thing.html">do the right thing</a>” would be to adopt a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/29/ethics-in-a-data-driven-world/">higher standard of ethical conduct</a> when it comes to user testing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Angus receives funding from Australian Research Council through Discovery projects DP200100519 ‘Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures’, and DP200101317 ‘Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation’.</span></em></p>If this is just one experiment among of tens of thousands, as Google has admitted, in what other ways might users have been manipulated in the past?Daniel Angus, Associate Professor in Digital Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1540602021-01-29T01:25:48Z2021-01-29T01:25:48ZIf Google does pull its search engine out of Australia, there are alternatives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381048/original/file-20210128-19-1lmbpzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=80%2C440%2C5029%2C3377&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Wachiwit</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian government’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/09/australia-is-making-google-and-facebook-pay-for-news-what-difference-will-the-code-make">push</a> to make Google pay news organisations for linking to their content has seen the search giant threaten to <a href="https://about.google/google-in-australia/an-open-letter/">pull out of Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Google Australia’s managing director Mel Silva said if the government’s proposal goes ahead, “we would have no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia”.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison pushed back saying he won’t respond to “<a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2021/01/22/pm-responds-google-threat/">threats</a>”. Even the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia says Google needs “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/27/ignore-threats-to-shut-search-in-australia-and-force-google-to-pay-small-business-groups-say">strong and stringent</a>” regulation because of its monopoly on searching the web.</p>
<h2>What if Google pulls out?</h2>
<p>Google’s proposal to make Google Search unavailable in Australia means we would need to search the web using other systems and tools. If this really happens, we could no longer go to <a href="https://www.google.com/">google.com</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com.au/">google.com.au</a> to search the web.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-fair-and-it-wont-work-an-argument-against-the-accc-forcing-google-and-facebook-to-pay-for-news-145391">It's not 'fair' and it won't work: an argument against the ACCC forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news</a>
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</p>
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<p>It is important to note that Google is not just web search. Google’s parent company <a href="https://abc.xyz/">Alphabet Inc</a> also runs key web portals such as YouTube, and productivity tools such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Maps (which actually <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/google-maps-australia-tech-inventions-2020-2">started in Australia</a>). Those services are not going to be removed from the Australian market, even if web search does get pulled out.</p>
<p>Online advertising is another sector in which Google is the market leader and where it makes money. Pulling Google web search out from Australia does not mean businesses would no longer be able to advertise using Google’s services. </p>
<p>But with no Google Search here, those adverts would no longer appear ahead of any other search results and be visited by Australian users.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Google Search result showing an ad for The Conversation ahead of any search results." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=201&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381044/original/file-20210128-23-guuupy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Search places paid advertising ahead of any search results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google.com/screenshot</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Businesses would still be able to put their adverts on other Australian websites that use the <a href="https://ads.google.com/">Google Ads</a> service.</p>
<p>The issue with this scenario is that Google’s key competitive advantage is the ability to access <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/google-tracks-you-privacy/">data from people</a> using its search services. Pulling web search out from the Australian market would mean Google missing out on that data from people in Australia.</p>
<h2>The alternatives to Google</h2>
<p>Google is the dominant search engine in Australia — it has <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/australia">94% of the web search market in Australia</a> — but there are other search services.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/australia">second most popular</a> search engine in Australia is <a href="https://www.bing.com/">Bing</a>, developed by Microsoft and often integrated into other Microsoft products such as its Windows operating system and Office tools.</p>
<p>Another less popular search option is <a href="https://au.yahoo.com/">Yahoo</a>, which also offers its own news and email service.</p>
<p>Other alternatives include niche search engines that offer unique tools with special features.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/">DuckDuckGo</a> is a search engine that has recently risen in popularity thanks to a commitment to protecting its users’ privacy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The DuckDuckGo homepage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381224/original/file-20210128-15-8jrbh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">DuckDuckGo is gaining support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://duckduckgo.com/">DuckDuckGo/Screen shot</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Contrary to the web search products from Google and Microsoft, DuckDuckGo does not store its users’ search queries or track their interactions with the system.</p>
<p>The quality of DuckDuckGo’s search results has improved over time, and is now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/dec/12/duckduckgo-google-search-engine-privacy">comparable</a> to that of the most popular search engines.</p>
<p>It says it now processes a daily average of more than <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/traffic">90 million search queries</a>, up from just over 51 million the same time last year.</p>
<p>Despite not drawing on users’ data to refine its search algorithms, the technology behind DuckDuckGo and other smaller players is based on the same machine-learning methods that others are using.</p>
<h2>Search the web, save the planet</h2>
<p>Another interesting and recent proposal of an alternative web search engine is <a href="https://www.ecosia.org/">Ecosia</a>. This system is unique as it focuses on sustainability and positive climate impact.</p>
<p>Its mission is to reinvest the income generated by search advertisements (the same business model Google Search is using) to <a href="https://info.ecosia.org/">plant trees</a> in key areas around the world.</p>
<p>So far, it says it has 15 million users and has contributed to planting more than 100 million trees, about 1.3 every second.</p>
<h2>Will Google really abandon Australia?</h2>
<p>Tim Berners-Lee, widely regarded as the inventor of the web, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/20/australias-proposed-media-code-could-break-the-world-wide-web-says-the-man-who-invented-it">pointed out</a> that the idea of asking web platforms to pay to post links runs counter to his fundamental concept.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/webs-inventor-says-news-media-bargaining-code-could-break-the-internet-hes-right-but-theres-a-fix-153630">Web's inventor says news media bargaining code could break the internet. He's right — but there's a fix</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>That said, it is also unfair for a search engine to make money using content that others have created.</p>
<p>It is also true that most of Google’s revenue already comes from asking others to pay for links on the web. This is <a href="https://ads.google.com/intl/en_au/home/how-it-works/">how Google’s online advertising works</a>: Google Ads makes advertisers pay for every impression users get or click users make to navigate to the advertised web page.</p>
<p>In some cases, if users end up <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722022?hl=en-AU&ref_topic=3119146">buying the advertised product</a>, Google gets a payment.</p>
<p>More likely than Google pulling out of the Australian market, the government and the search giant should diplomatically find a compromise in which Google still provides its web search product in Australia and there will be a return to news organisations for Google making use of their content.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was updated to clarify how Google can receive payments from advertisers for purchases.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gianluca Demartini receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Facebook.</span></em></p>There are other ways to search the web without Google, and some options help protect your privacy while another is good for the planet.Gianluca Demartini, Associate professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1433672020-07-30T13:08:53Z2020-07-30T13:08:53ZWellbeing levels fell during the pandemic but improved under lockdown, data analysis shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350174/original/file-20200729-33-1w6esal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C103%2C4892%2C3178&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blond-girl-her-baby-brotherand-their-1642982662">Daria Nipot/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lockdowns are seemingly vital for controlling COVID-19. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2405-7_reference.pdf">Early evidence</a> suggests they have a big effect on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2404-8_reference.pdf">preventing deaths</a>. But if we’re to keep using them, we also need to know their broader impacts. Many people are worried about lockdowns also having a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30460-8/fulltext">negative effect</a> on mental health. </p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/medicine/living-with-covid-19-restrictions-survey">most assessments</a> have found that <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30308-4/fulltext">they do</a>. But these studies usually can’t distinguish between the effects of the pandemic and of lockdowns specifically. This is because they often <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/The-mental-health-effects-of-the-first-two-months-of-lockdown-and-social-distancing-during-the-Covid-19-pandemic-in-the-UK.pdf">only compare</a> people’s mental states from before the pandemic and after lockdowns were introduced. A decline in wellbeing might be a response to the overall pandemic.</p>
<p>To better judge the impact of lockdowns on wellbeing, we need to isolate the critical period after the pandemic started but before lockdowns were launched, and compare how people felt at this point with how they felt during lockdown. </p>
<p>So, we <a href="https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/Happiness_under_Lockdown.pdf">conducted research</a> using data from <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/britains-mood-measured-weekly">YouGov’s UK weekly mood tracker</a> and <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=US">Google Trends</a> to do this. Following a rise in negative emotions at the start of the pandemic, our working paper found that wellbeing improved once lockdowns began – though not consistently for all social groups.</p>
<h2>Separating lockdowns from the pandemic</h2>
<p>From June 2019 to June 2020, YouGov surveyed a nationally representative sample of around 2,000 respondents each week across Great Britain. It asked them to report on 12 mood states: happiness, contentment, inspiration, optimism, energy levels, sadness, apathy, stress, boredom, frustration, loneliness and fear.</p>
<p>Data from the survey suggests that the pandemic had a strong negative effect on people’s mood, but that this quickly returned to baseline after the introduction of lockdown. Boredom, loneliness, frustration and apathy increased with the introduction of lockdown, but so did happiness, optimism, contentment and even inspiration. Meanwhile, sadness, fear and stress all fell.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, overall life satisfaction questions were only introduced into the mood tracker in April 2020. So, to consider how the pandemic and lockdown affected people’s general wellbeing, we had to attribute scores to respondents for the period prior to April based on their mood data (we calculated the scores using a statistical technique called regression).</p>
<p>While far from ideal, the results from this analysis – depicted in the figure below – suggest that life satisfaction similarly fell with the arrival of the pandemic and rebounded after lockdown began.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph showing life satisfaction in Great Britain, June 2019-June 2020. Satisfaction plummets in March but rises after lockdown begins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349682/original/file-20200727-17-kf6147.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Life satisfaction in Great Britain between June 2019 and June 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lockdowns, while demanding, are a decisive and effective government response. So it’s perhaps not surprising that, with the threat of COVID-19 having rapidly accelerated in March, their introduction would to some extent <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200604095624.htm">lessen people’s concerns</a>.</p>
<h2>Using Google to compare countries</h2>
<p>We then turned to Google search data in order to look at other countries. We wanted to see how people’s feelings of negative emotions – what’s known as “negative affect” – may have changed over time.</p>
<p>Google Trends shows the relative popularity of specific Google search terms on a week-by-week basis. We focused on the period June 2019 to June 2020, restricting our analysis to English-speaking countries – namely the UK, New Zealand, Australia, India, South Africa, Ireland, the USA and Canada. </p>
<p>We then created a measure of negative affect by looking at the combined popularity of the following terms: “psychological stress”, “boredom”, “frustration”, “sadness”, “fear” and “apathy”.</p>
<p>As shown in the following figure, the trend of negative affect seen in UK Google searches closely matches the trend seen in the YouGov mood survey.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph showing the trends in negative affect in the YouGov and Google data. Both trend lines spike in March-April 2020 and fall after lockdown begins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349897/original/file-20200728-27-1k2cnsv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The trends of negative affect in the YouGov survey data and UK Google search data, standardised for comparison (mean=0, standard deviation=1).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And the Google data shows similar trends across other English-speaking nations. This measure of negative affect rose sharply with the outbreak of the pandemic, then began to fall as lockdowns were implemented.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Eight graphs showing similar trends across each of the English-speaking countries -- negative affect rises in March-April and then declines." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349684/original/file-20200727-33-124r0cl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in negative affect by country, relative to a pre-pandemic baseline period (January 15 to February 15), according to their Google search data. Full lockdown indicated by white lines; partial lockdown indicated by grey lines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Statistical analysis of these trends in the Google data shows that, on average, negative affect fell by 17% in the one-month period immediately after various lockdowns were introduced. Again, given that lockdowns tended to begin when uncertainty, new COVID-19 cases and daily deaths were at their peak, it’s perhaps not surprising that we see this effect.</p>
<h2>Some social groups were affected more than others</h2>
<p>Finally, we also used the YouGov data to look at how the pandemic and lockdown affected the wellbeing of different groups of people in Great Britain. We found that about half of the total effect of the pandemic and lockdown is sociotropic, meaning that it affected everyone similarly.</p>
<p>Of the remaining half, we found acute negative effects on the wellbeing of the elderly, professionals, those living alone and women. </p>
<p>The wellbeing of elderly people had already fallen prior to lockdown beginning, most likely because of the greater threat posed to older age groups by COVID-19. Increases in social isolation, loneliness and boredom post lockdown may then have disproportionately affected older groups, as well as people living alone.</p>
<p>For small business owners and staff, economic insecurities related to retail closures and employee furloughs may have had a disproportionate impact on wellbeing. </p>
<p>And it’s clear that lockdown entailed <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/abuse-selfharm-and-suicidal-ideation-in-the-uk-during-the-covid19-pandemic/692FD08F3AEFF45036535F5E9CEBAA00">particular hardship for women</a>, often because of additional childcare and home schooling responsibilities <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gwao.12506">not being shared equally</a>.</p>
<p>But we also found positive effects for low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals, especially men. We suspect that this reflects the income support made available to these individuals. The following figure shows how life satisfaction rose among three low SES groups (skilled and unskilled manual labourers and the underemployed) during the lockdown according to the YouGov data. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph with three rising lines, showing the life satisfaction of three low SES groups rising during the pandemic and lockdown." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349899/original/file-20200728-33-2yewye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in life satisfaction for three low SES groups in Great Britain: skilled manual labourers, unskilled manual labourers and the underemployed (those of working age not studying or in full-time employment). White portions of lines indicate a statistically significant difference since March 5, the date of the first diagnosed COVID-19 fatality in Great Britain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Low SES men are one of the highest risk groups for completed suicide attempts. The relatively good mental health outcomes for this group during lockdown could provide one explanation for the somewhat unexpected <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/japan-suicides-fall-sharply-as-covid-19-lockdown-causes-shift-in-stress-factors">reduction in suicides</a> that has been seen in some countries during the pandemic. </p>
<p>Search data also highlights a potential link between income support and suicide rates. The figure below shows international search trends for suicidal ideation over the pandemic-lockdown period. India and South Africa, two countries that implemented lockdowns with minimal social support mechanisms, are clear outliers, with sharply rising rates of suicidal ideation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph with nine lines (for the eight English-speaking countries plus their average) showing search trends for suicidal ideation from March 2020 onwards. Most countries' lines are below the baseline; Australia is in line with the baseline; South Africa and India are above baseline." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349898/original/file-20200728-35-12lbpf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Search trends for suicidal ideation by country, compared to mid-February baseline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much of the world is reopening, but further lockdowns may be necessary in the event of a second viral wave. While there are many factors to consider when deciding whether to lock down, the impact on mental health isn’t straightforward. Our research suggests that while lockdowns do adversely affect some groups, they also have the potential to redress some of the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Fabian, Roberto Foa and Sam Gilbert do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research is a collaborative initiative between YouGov and the Cambridge Department for Politics and International Studies. None of the authors receive financial compensation for their participation in this initiative.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span> </span></em></p>Lockdowns also affect socioeconomic groups differently, and should be combined with income support to protect mental health.Mark Fabian, Research Associate in Public Policy, University of CambridgeRoberto Foa, Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy, University of CambridgeSam Gilbert, Affiliated Researcher in Public Policy, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/995652019-03-27T16:16:44Z2019-03-27T16:16:44ZPrinciple behind Google’s April Fools’ pigeon prank proves more than a joke<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264444/original/file-20190318-28499-66kcrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=513%2C2506%2C3294%2C2255&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Consider the wisdom of the flock.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/hPOFScEaZcA">Zac Ong/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://archive.google.com/pigeonrank/">Google’s 2002 April Fools’ Day joke</a> purportedly disclosed that its popular search engine was not actually powered by artificial intelligence, but instead by biological intelligence. Google had deployed bunches of birds, dubbed pigeon clusters, to calculate the relative value of web pages because they proved to be faster and more reliable than either human editors or digital computers.</p>
<p>The joke hinged on the silliness of the premise – but the scenario does have more than a bit of the factual mixed in with the fanciful.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264443/original/file-20190318-28512-g4b3sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A screenshot of Google’s explanation of how PigeonRank supposedly worked.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://archive.google.com/pigeonrank/">Google</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The prank had taken a page out of 20th-century behaviorist B. F. Skinner’s <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863">operant conditioning</a> playbook by allegedly teaching pigeons to peck for a food reward whenever the birds detected a relevant search result.</p>
<p>It also adapted Victorian polymath Francis Galton’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/075450a0">vox populi</a> – or the voice of the people – principle by purportedly putting the web search task to something of a vote. The more the flocks of pigeons pecked at a particular website, the higher it rose on the user’s results page. This so-called PigeonRank system thus rank-ordered a user’s search results in accord with the pecking order of Google’s suitably schooled birds.</p>
<p>More than a decade later, we integrated elements of this spoof into <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141357">our own serious research project</a> using a real mini-flock of four pigeons. Our research team included <a href="https://health.ucdavis.edu/publish/providerbio/search/11653">a pathologist</a>, <a href="https://winshipcancer.emory.edu/bios/faculty/krupinski-elizabeth.html">a radiologist</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SIl5WVYAAAAJ&hl=en">two experimental</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CiWDe9EAAAAJ&hl=en">psychologists</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264174/original/file-20190315-28483-11dzk01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The test chamber provided pigeons with an image to classify for the reward of a food pellet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141357">PLoS ONE 10(11): e0141357</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Exploiting the well-established <a href="http://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/pigeons-arent-just-rats-with-wings">visual and cognitive prowess of pigeons</a>, we taught our birds to peck either a blue or a yellow button on a computerized touchscreen in order to categorize pathology slides that depicted either benign or cancerous human breast tissue samples.</p>
<p>In each training session, we showed pigeons several slides of each type in random order on the touchscreen. Pigeons first had to peck the pathology slide multiple times – this step encouraged the birds to study them. Then the two report buttons popped up on each side of the tissue sample. If the tissue sample looked benign and the pigeons pecked the “benign” report button or if the presented tissue sample looked malignant and the pigeons pecked the “malignant” report button, then they received a food reward. However, if the pigeons chose the incorrect report button, then no food was given.</p>
<p>After two weeks of training, the pigeons attained accuracy levels ranging between 85 and 90 percent correct. Granted, this accomplishment falls short of their reading human text – although time will tell if that too is within <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607870113">the ken of pigeons</a> – but the pigeons were quite able to make such highly accurate reports despite considerable variations in the magnification of the slide images.</p>
<p>We went on to test the pigeons with brand-new images to see if the birds could reliably transfer what they had learned; this is the key criterion for claiming that they’d learned a generalized concept of “benign/malignant tissue samples.” Accuracy to the familiar training samples averaged around 85 percent correct, and accuracy to the novel testing samples was nearly as high, averaging around 80 percent correct. This high level of transfer indicates that rote memorization alone cannot explain the pigeon’s categorization proficiency.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264435/original/file-20190318-28487-14ykryc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pigeons were able to generalize the skill of classifying tissue samples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141357">PLoS ONE 10(11): e0141357</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, we put Google’s PigeonRank proposal to the test. With an expanded set of breast tissue samples, we assessed the accuracy of each of four pigeons against the “wisdom of the flock,” a technique we termed “flock-sourcing.” To calculate these “flock” scores, we assigned each trial a score of 100 percent if three or four pigeons correctly responded, and we assigned a score of 50 percent if two pigeons correctly responded. Three or four pigeons never incorrectly responded.</p>
<p>The accuracy scores of the four individual pigeons were 73, 79, 81 and 85 percent correct. However, the accuracy score of the “flock” was 93 percent, thereby exceeding that of every individual bird. Pigeons <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2017/algorithm-better-wisdom-crowds-0125">thus join people</a> in evidencing better wisdom from crowds. Playing on Galton’s original term, you might call this vox columbae – or the voice-of-the-pigeons principle.</p>
<p>Although all of this may seem to be a bit of feathery fluff, over the past several years our report has resonated across several fields, going beyond pathology and radiology to include the burgeoning realm of artificial intelligence. It has been recognized in several articles including one <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/ai-versus-md">quoting Geoff Hinton</a>, a key figure behind modern AI: “The role of radiologists will evolve from doing perceptual things that could probably be done by a highly trained pigeon to doing far more cognitive things.” In other words, machines may eventually be programmed to match what pigeons can do, leaving the more interesting and challenging tasks to humans.</p>
<p>What began as an elaborate April Fools’ prank has thus proved to be more than a joke. Never underestimate the brains of birds. They’re really <a href="https://www.activewild.com/bird-intelligence/">brainy beasts</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99565/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After Google suggested PigeonRank was at the root of its search function, a group of researchers put a small flock of the birds to a different classification test in real life.Edward Wasserman, Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of IowaRichard Levenson, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, DavisVictor Navarro, Graduate Student in Psychology, University of IowaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1023732018-09-26T10:23:14Z2018-09-26T10:23:14ZHow humans fit into Google’s machine future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237208/original/file-20180919-146148-78i2jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will people use technology, or will it use us?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/machine-learning-analytics-identify-person-technology-618887135">Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1998, Google began humbly, formally incorporated in a Menlo Park garage, providing search results from a <a href="http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/0-4-Google.htm">server housed in Lego bricks</a>. It had a straightforward goal: make the poorly indexed World Wide Web accessible to humans. Its success was based on an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7552(98)00110-X">algorithm that analyzed the linking structure of the internet itself</a> to evaluate what web pages are most reputable and useful. But founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had a much more ambitious goal: <a href="https://www.google.com/about/our-story/">They wanted to organize the world’s information</a>. </p>
<p>Twenty years later, they have built a company going far beyond even that lofty goal, providing individuals and businesses alike with email, file sharing, web hosting, home automation, smartphones and countless other services. The playful startup that began as a surveyor of the web has become an architect of reality, creating and defining what its <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/17/google-has-2-billion-users-on-android-500m-on-google-photos/">billions of users</a> find, see, know or are even aware of. </p>
<p>Google controls <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share">more than 90 percent of the global search market</a>, driving users and companies alike to design websites that appeal to the company’s algorithms. If Google can’t find a piece of information, that knowledge simply doesn’t exist for Google users. If it’s not on Google, does it really exist at all?</p>
<h2>The intimacy machine</h2>
<p>Despite its billions of answered search queries, Google is not just an answer machine. Google monitors what responses people click on, assuming those are more relevant and of higher value, and returning them more prominently in future searches on that topic. The company also <a href="https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/05/10/15-ways-google-monitors-you">monitors user activities</a> on its email, business applications, music and mobile operating systems, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/21/16684818/google-location-tracking-cell-tower-data-android-os-firebase-privacy">using that data</a> as part of a feedback loop to give users more of what they like.</p>
<p>All the data it collects is the real source of Google’s dominance, making the company’s services ever better at providing users what they want. Through <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/search/how-google-autocomplete-works-search/">autocomplete</a> and the personalized filtering of search results, Google tries to anticipate your needs, sometimes before you even have them. As Google’s former executive chairman Eric Schmidt once put it, “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704901104575423294099527212">I actually think most people don’t want Google to answer their questions</a>. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237220/original/file-20180919-146148-2nfmjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What Google wants to be …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/telling-future-227270695">Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Twenty years from now, with two more decades of progress, Google will be even more accomplished, perhaps approaching a vision Brin expressed years ago: “<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/403532/whats-next-for-google/">The perfect search engine would be like the mind of God</a>.” People are coming to rely on these tools, with their advanced artificial intelligence-based algorithms, not just to know things but to help them think. </p>
<p>The search bar has already become a place people ask personal questions, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/your-search-history-stupidest-creepiest-version-yourself-535552">a kind of confessional or stream of consciousness</a> that is deeply revealing about who users are, what they believe and what they want. In the future, Google will know you even more intimately, combining search results, browsing history and location tracking with biophysical health data from wearables and other sources that could offer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.009">powerful insights into your state of mind</a>.</p>
<h2>A new kind of vulnerability</h2>
<p>It is not far-fetched to imagine that, in the future, Google might know if an individual is depressed, or has cancer, before that user realizes it for herself. But even beyond that, Google may have the crucial role in an ever-tightening alignment between what you think your needs are, and what Google tells you they are.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237212/original/file-20180919-158240-nbcmfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who’s in control – the person or the AI?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://a24films.com/films/ex-machina">A24 Films</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyond its effects on individual people, Google is amassing power to influence society – perhaps invisibly. Fiction has a warning about what that might look like: In the movie “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/movies/review-in-ex-machina-a-mogul-fashions-the-droid-of-his-dreams.html">Ex Machina</a>,” an entrepreneurial genius reveals how he assembled the raw material of billions of search queries into an artificial mind that is highly effective at manipulating humans based on what it learns about people’s behaviors and biases. </p>
<p>But this situation isn’t really fiction. As long ago as 2014, researchers at Facebook infamously demonstrated <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinkers-with-users-emotions-in-news-feed-experiment-stirring-outcry.html">how easy it is to manipulate users</a> with positive or negative posts in their news feeds. As people hand algorithms more power over their daily lives, will they notice how the machines are steering them?</p>
<h2>Surviving the glorious future</h2>
<p>Whether Google ultimately exercises this power depends on its human leaders – and on the digital society Google is so central to building. The company is <a href="https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-10-tech-companies-that-have-invested-the-most-money-in-ai/">investing heavily</a> in machine intelligence, <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ai-in-2018-google-seeks-to-turn-early-focus-on-ai-into-cash-2017-12-28">committing itself to a highly automated future</a> where the mechanics and, perhaps, the true insights of the quest for knowledge become difficult or impossible for humans to understand.</p>
<p>Google is gradually becoming an extension of individual and collective thought. It will get harder to recognize where people end and Google begins. People will become both empowered by and dependent on the technology – which will be easy for anyone to access but hard for people to control.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237210/original/file-20180919-158219-7t65k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The amount of control Larry Page and Sergey Brin and their company exert over individual people’s lives has grown since this photo was taken in 2000.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Google-At-20/a50b102ab64d45b2b132676ea6b2b941/2/0">AP Photo/Randi Lynn Beach</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Humans will need to find ways to collaborate with – and direct the activities of – increasingly sophisticated machine intelligence, rather than merely becoming users who blindly follow the leads of black boxes they no longer understand or control. </p>
<p>Based on our studies of the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=b8NhWc4AAAAJ&hl=en">complex relationships</a> between <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BvJt4DQAAAAJ&hl=en">people and technologies</a>, a critical key to this new understanding of algorithms will be storytelling. The human brain is <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/23674">bad at understanding and processing data</a> – which is, of course, a machine’s core strength. To work together, a new human-machine relationship will have to depend on a uniquely human strength – storytelling. People will work best with systems that can work through stories and explain their actions in ways humans can understand and modify.</p>
<p>The more that people entrust computer-based systems with organizing culture and society, the more they should demand those systems function according to rules humans can comprehend. The day we stop being the primary authors of the story of humankind is the day it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R">stops being a story about us</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ed Finn anticipates receiving funding from Google in Fall 2018 to co-sponsor a research project funded by the Hewlett Foundation exploring the relationship between science fiction, artificial intelligence, and technology policy. He owns five shares of Alphabet Inc. Class A stock, not counting some modest and almost inscrutable quantity of partial shares through the managed investments in his Arizona State University retirement account.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Maynard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Google controls what billions of people find, see, know or even are aware of. As it gets better at delivering what it thinks people want, how will that affect humans’ perceptions of their own needs?Ed Finn, Associate Professor of Arts, Media and Engineering; Associate Professor of English; Director, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State UniversityAndrew Maynard, Director, Risk Innovation Lab, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029072018-09-11T20:12:47Z2018-09-11T20:12:47ZGoogle searches reveal where people are most concerned about climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235707/original/file-20180910-123125-qqf4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A handy source of information about questions big and small.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-android-apps-phone-1572901/">TheDigitalWay/pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do you do if you have a question? You probably Google it.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2017/AU/">Google Trends</a>, in 2017 Australians were keen to know about tennis, Sophie Monk, fidget spinners and Bitcoin. But besides these arguably trivial queries, our Google searches also revealed our concerns about extreme weather events such as Cyclone Debbie, Hurricane Irma, and the Bali volcano.</p>
<p>Our research, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-018-2289-9">published in the journal Climatic Change</a>, suggests that Google search histories can be used as a “barometer of social awareness” to measure communities’ awareness of climate change, and their ability to adapt to it.</p>
<p>We found that Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu share the highest levels of climate change awareness, according to their Google searches – as might be expected of island nations where climate change is a pressing reality. Australia is close behind, with a high level of public knowledge about climate change, despite the current lack of political action.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pacific-islands-are-not-passive-victims-of-climate-change-but-will-need-help-47207">Pacific islands are not passive victims of climate change, but will need help</a>
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<p>Google searches are like a window into the questions and concerns that are playing on society’s collective mind. Search histories have been used to alert epidemiologists to ‘flu outbreaks (albeit with <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/when-google-got-flu-wrong-1.12413">varying success</a>) and to gauge how communities may respond to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-015-1590-0">extreme weather events like hurricanes</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235706/original/file-20180910-123116-xy69jl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Googling for the climate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">search-engine-land/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Talk of climate change action like “adaptation” often centres on well-known and at-risk places such as the Pacific Islands. As sea level rises, communities are forced to adapt by building sea walls or, in extreme cases, relocate. </p>
<p>Understanding how conscious communities are of the impacts of climate change is crucial to determining how willing they may be to adapt. So finding a way to rapidly gauge public awareness of climate change could help deliver funding and resources to areas that not only need it the most, but are also willing to take the action required. </p>
<p>In our research, we used Google search histories to measure the climate change awareness in different communities, and to show how awareness maps (like the one below) can help better target funding and resources.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-vast-library-reveals-the-rising-tide-of-climate-related-words-in-literature-45056">Google's vast library reveals the rising tide of climate-related words in literature</a>
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<h2>OK Google, do I need to worry about the climate?</h2>
<p>Google is asked more than 3.6 billion questions every day, some of which are about climate change. We looked at how many climate-related Google searches were made in 150 different countries, and ranked these countries from most to least aware of climate change. </p>
<p>Countries such as Fiji and Canada, which reported high rates of climate change Googling, were considered as having a high awareness of climate change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235594/original/file-20180910-123122-co4wmr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">World map of climate change awareness based on the relative volume of climate change related searches, and climate change vulnerability. Colours show the relationship between awareness and vulnerability: yellow, ‘high awareness, high risk’; orange, ‘low awareness, high risk’; dark purple, ‘high awareness, low risk’; light purple, ‘low awareness, low risk’.</span>
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<p>We then divided countries into categories based on their climate awareness, their wealth, and their risk of climate change impacts (based on factors such as temperature, rainfall, and population density). All of these variables can influence communities’ <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-017-0065-x">ability to adapt to climate change</a>.</p>
<p>This is a quick way to gauge how ready communities are to adapt to climate change, especially at a large global scale. For example, two countries in the “high awareness, high risk” category are Australia and the Solomon Islands, yet these two nations differ greatly in their financial resources. Australia has a large economy and should therefore be financing its own climate adaptation, whereas the Solomon Islands would be a candidate for international climate aid funding. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235708/original/file-20180910-123104-1e98st4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Destruction of Townsville, Australia after Tropical Cyclone Yasi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob and Stephanie Levy/flickr</span></span>
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<p>By looking at countries’ specific situations – not only in terms of their relative wealth but also their degree of public engagement with climate issues – we can not only improve the strategic delivery of climate change adaptation funding, but can also help to determine what type of approach may be best.</p>
<h2>Challenges and opportunities</h2>
<p>Of course, there are plenty of other ways to assess climate preparedness besides Google searches. What’s more, internet access is limited in many countries, which means Google search histories may be skewed towards the concerns of that country’s more affluent or urbanised citizens. </p>
<p>Climate change awareness has previously been measured <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2728">using surveys</a> and interviews. This approach provides plenty of detail, but is also painstaking and resource-intensive. Our big-data method may therefore be more helpful in making rapid, large-scale decisions about where and when to deliver climate adaptation funding. </p>
<p>Google search histories also don’t tell us about governments’ policy positions on climate issues. This is a notable concern in Australia, which has a high degree of public climate awareness, at least judging by Google searches, but also a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-too-hard-basket-a-short-history-of-australias-aborted-climate-policies-101812">history of political decisions</a> that fail to deliver climate action.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lack-of-climate-policy-threatens-to-trip-up-australian-diplomacy-this-summit-season-102845">Lack of climate policy threatens to trip up Australian diplomacy this summit season</a>
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<p>Amid the political impasse in much of the world, big data can help reveal how society feels about environmental issues at a grassroots level. This approach also provides an opportunity to link with other big data projects, such as Google’s new <a href="https://insights.sustainability.google/places/ChIJv_FYgkNd1moRpxLuRXZURFs">Environmental Insights Explorer</a> and <a href="https://toolbox.google.com/datasetsearch">Data Set Search</a>. </p>
<p>The untapped potential of big data to help shape policy in the future could provide hope for communities that are threatened by climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Google search histories can be used to reveal how much the public knows about climate change in countries all over the world - and how ready they are to take action to guard against its effects.Carla Archibald, PhD Candidate, Conservation Science, The University of QueenslandNathalie Butt, Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.