Google has banned items containing the string "gun" in the name on its e-commerce search platform, accidentally targeting many innocuous items:
Google Shopping, which allows users to compare product prices from thousands of online retailers, has removed all 'gun' search results - even if the product is not gun-related.
Online shoppers have complained about being unable to browse dozens of products such as Burgundy wine, water guns and music by American rock band Guns N' Roses. Searches for products including nail guns, glue guns and Arsenal Football Club's Gunnersaurus dinosaur mascot also returns the message: "Your search did not match any shopping results."
Google has banned weapons listings since 2012, however online shoppers have highlighted certain product unavailability since the Florida school shooting on Valentine's Day which left 17 dead.
The block could be circumvented using alternate terms such as "handgnu" or "fully automatic firearm".
Also at Engadget.
(Score: 2) by unauthorized on Friday March 02 2018, @10:32PM (3 children)
Ah yes, look at the worst case example. Definitely don't look for examples in fields such as industrial automation or medical equipment automation because you might find that when people's lives are at stake, software development is actually (mostly) done properly, rather than by cost-cutting on the way to the bottom.
Automated cars don't have to be perfect, they just need to beat us at it. This is not a tall order, people suck at driving.
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 03 2018, @02:39AM
People suck at statistics too, which is why that self driving car better be close to perfect, otherwise that one accident will stand out over the 20 human error caused accident.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 03 2018, @06:47AM (1 child)
Why so negative? Nothing can do better at the moment, living or machine. What is the basis for the "suck" verdict? You could just as well say every living thing sucks at everything it does.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 03 2018, @02:12PM
Have you seen people drive?
Just because nothing else can do better, does not make the status quo good.