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Incident 16: Images of Black People Labeled as Gorillas

Description: Google Photos image processing software mistakenly labelled a black couple as "gorillas."

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Entities

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Alleged: Google developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Black people.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
16
Report Count
24
Incident Date
2015-06-03
Editors
Sean McGregor, Kevin Paeth
Applied Taxonomies
GMF, CSETv0, CSETv1, MIT

CSETv1 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Incident Number

The number of the incident in the AI Incident Database.
 

16

Notes (special interest intangible harm)

Input any notes that may help explain your answers.
 

The google image tagging feature of the Google Photos app mislabeled black people as gorillas.

Special Interest Intangible Harm

An assessment of whether a special interest intangible harm occurred. This assessment does not consider the context of the intangible harm, if an AI was involved, or if there is characterizable class or subgroup of harmed entities. It is also not assessing if an intangible harm occurred. It is only asking if a special interest intangible harm occurred.
 

yes

Date of Incident Year

The year in which the incident occurred. If there are multiple harms or occurrences of the incident, list the earliest. If a precise date is unavailable, but the available sources provide a basis for estimating the year, estimate. Otherwise, leave blank. Enter in the format of YYYY
 

2015

Date of Incident Month

The month in which the incident occurred. If there are multiple harms or occurrences of the incident, list the earliest. If a precise date is unavailable, but the available sources provide a basis for estimating the month, estimate. Otherwise, leave blank. Enter in the format of MM
 

06

Date of Incident Day

The day on which the incident occurred. If a precise date is unavailable, leave blank. Enter in the format of DD
 

29

GMF Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Known AI Goal Snippets

One or more snippets that justify the classification.
 

(Snippet Text: Google has been forced to apologise after its image recognition software mislabelled photographs of black people as gorillas.

, Related Classifications: Image Tagging)

CSETv0 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Problem Nature

Indicates which, if any, of the following types of AI failure describe the incident: "Specification," i.e. the system's behavior did not align with the true intentions of its designer, operator, etc; "Robustness," i.e. the system operated unsafely because of features or changes in its environment, or in the inputs the system received; "Assurance," i.e. the system could not be adequately monitored or controlled during operation.
 

Specification

Physical System

Where relevant, indicates whether the AI system(s) was embedded into or tightly associated with specific types of hardware.
 

Software only

Level of Autonomy

The degree to which the AI system(s) functions independently from human intervention. "High" means there is no human involved in the system action execution; "Medium" means the system generates a decision and a human oversees the resulting action; "low" means the system generates decision-support output and a human makes a decision and executes an action.
 

High

Nature of End User

"Expert" if users with special training or technical expertise were the ones meant to benefit from the AI system(s)’ operation; "Amateur" if the AI systems were primarily meant to benefit the general public or untrained users.
 

Amateur

Public Sector Deployment

"Yes" if the AI system(s) involved in the accident were being used by the public sector or for the administration of public goods (for example, public transportation). "No" if the system(s) were being used in the private sector or for commercial purposes (for example, a ride-sharing company), on the other.
 

No

Data Inputs

A brief description of the data that the AI system(s) used or were trained on.
 

photographs, images, multi-media content

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

1.1. Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. Discrimination and Toxicity

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

AI

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Unintentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+16
Google Photos labels black people as 'gorillas'
Why Google 'Thought' This Black Woman Was a Gorilla+5
When It Comes to Gorillas, Google Photos Remains Blind
Google’s Photo App Still Can’t Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple’s.
Google Photos labels black people as 'gorillas'

Google Photos labels black people as 'gorillas'

telegraph.co.uk

Google Photos tags black people as 'gorillas', puts pictures in special folder

Google Photos tags black people as 'gorillas', puts pictures in special folder

independent.co.uk

Google Photos identified two black people as 'gorillas'

Google Photos identified two black people as 'gorillas'

mashable.com

Google Photos identified black people as 'gorillas,' but racist software isn't new

Google Photos identified black people as 'gorillas,' but racist software isn't new

splinternews.com

Google apologises for Photos app's racist blunder

Google apologises for Photos app's racist blunder

bbc.com

Google says sorry for racist auto-tag in photo app

Google says sorry for racist auto-tag in photo app

theguardian.com

Google Photos app tags black Jacky Alcine and friend as GORILLAS

Google Photos app tags black Jacky Alcine and friend as GORILLAS

dailymail.co.uk

Google apologizes after app mistakenly labels black people 'gorillas'

Google apologizes after app mistakenly labels black people 'gorillas'

cbc.ca

Google apologizes for mis-tagging photos of African Americans

Google apologizes for mis-tagging photos of African Americans

cbsnews.com

Google Mistakenly Tags Black People as ‘Gorillas,’ Showing Limits of Algorithms

Google Mistakenly Tags Black People as ‘Gorillas,’ Showing Limits of Algorithms

blogs.wsj.com

Google Photos labeled black people 'gorillas'

Google Photos labeled black people 'gorillas'

usatoday.com

Google Photos Tags Two African-Americans As Gorillas Through Facial Recognition Software

Google Photos Tags Two African-Americans As Gorillas Through Facial Recognition Software

forbes.com

Google Photos Mistakenly Labels Black People ‘Gorillas’

Google Photos Mistakenly Labels Black People ‘Gorillas’

bits.blogs.nytimes.com

Google rushes to fix software that served up racial slur

Google rushes to fix software that served up racial slur

edition.cnn.com

Google Photo App Labels Black Couple 'Gorillas'

Google Photo App Labels Black Couple 'Gorillas'

news.sky.com

Google Apologizes For Tagging Photos Of Black People As ‘Gorillas'

Google Apologizes For Tagging Photos Of Black People As ‘Gorillas'

huffingtonpost.com

Why Google 'Thought' This Black Woman Was a Gorilla

Why Google 'Thought' This Black Woman Was a Gorilla

wnycstudios.org

When It Comes to Gorillas, Google Photos Remains Blind

When It Comes to Gorillas, Google Photos Remains Blind

wired.com

Google Photos Still Has a Problem with Gorillas

Google Photos Still Has a Problem with Gorillas

technologyreview.com

Google Removed Gorillas From Search to Fix Racist Algorithm

Google Removed Gorillas From Search to Fix Racist Algorithm

nymag.com

Two years later, Google solves 'racist algorithm' problem by purging 'gorilla' label from image classifier

Two years later, Google solves 'racist algorithm' problem by purging 'gorilla' label from image classifier

boingboing.net

Google's solution to accidental algorithmic racism: ban gorillas

Google's solution to accidental algorithmic racism: ban gorillas

theguardian.com

Google has ‘fixed’ its algorithm that categorised people as 'Gorillas' with a not so elegant solution

Google has ‘fixed’ its algorithm that categorised people as 'Gorillas' with a not so elegant solution

firstpost.com

Google’s Photo App Still Can’t Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple’s.

Google’s Photo App Still Can’t Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple’s.

nytimes.com

Google Photos labels black people as 'gorillas'
telegraph.co.uk · 2015

Google has removed the 'gorilla' tag from its new Photos app, after a user noticed it had filed a number of photos of him and his black friend in an automatically generated album named 'gorillas'.

The affected user, computer programmer Jack…

Google Photos tags black people as 'gorillas', puts pictures in special folder
independent.co.uk · 2015

Google’s image recognition algorithm is labelling photos of black people as gorillas and putting them into a special album.

The automatic recognition software is intended to spot characteristics of photos and sort them together — so that al…

Google Photos identified two black people as 'gorillas'
mashable.com · 2015

Google Photos uses sophisticated facial-recognition software to identify not only individuals, but also specific categories of objects and photo types, like food, cats and skylines.

Image recognition programs are far from perfect, however; …

Google Photos identified black people as 'gorillas,' but racist software isn't new
splinternews.com · 2015

Google has come under fire recently for an objectively racist “glitch” found in its new Photos application for iOS and Android that is identifying black people as "gorillas."

In theory, Photos is supposed to act like an intelligent digital …

Google apologises for Photos app's racist blunder
bbc.com · 2015

Mr Alcine tweeted Google about the fact its app had misclassified his photo

Google says it is "appalled" that its new Photos app mistakenly labelled a black couple as being "gorillas".

Its product automatically tags uploaded pictures using …

Google says sorry for racist auto-tag in photo app
theguardian.com · 2015

Google has apologized after its new photo app labelled two black people as “gorillas”.

The photo service, launched in May, automatically tags uploaded pictures using its own artificial intelligence software.

“Google Photos, y’all fucked up.…

Google Photos app tags black Jacky Alcine and friend as GORILLAS
dailymail.co.uk · 2015

Google has been forced to apologise after its image recognition software mislabelled photographs of black people as gorillas.

The internet giant's new Google Photos application uses an auto-tagging feature to help organise images uploaded t…

Google apologizes after app mistakenly labels black people 'gorillas'
cbc.ca · 2015

Google has come under fire after the image-recognition feature in its Photos application mistakenly identified people with dark skin as "gorillas."

Jacky Alciné of New York City tweeted a picture of himself and a friend on Sunday that the a…

Google apologizes for mis-tagging photos of African Americans
cbsnews.com · 2015

Google was quick to respond over the weekend to a user after he tweeted that the new Google Photos app had mis-categorized a photo of him and his friend in an unfortunate and offensive way.

Jacky Alciné, a Brooklyn computer programmer of Ha…

Google Mistakenly Tags Black People as ‘Gorillas,’ Showing Limits of Algorithms
blogs.wsj.com · 2015

Google is a leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning. But the company’s computers still have a lot to learn, judging by a major blunder by its Photos app this week.

The app tagged two black people as “Gorillas,” according to J…

Google Photos labeled black people 'gorillas'
usatoday.com · 2015

Google launched its Photos app at Google I/O in May. Here staffers wait to check in conference attendees at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. (Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press)

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has apologized after its new Photos…

Google Photos Tags Two African-Americans As Gorillas Through Facial Recognition Software
forbes.com · 2015

When Brooklyn-native Jacky Alcine logged onto Google Photos on Sunday evening, he was shocked to find an album titled “Gorillas,” in which the facial recognition software categorized him and his friend as primates. Immediately, Alcine poste…

Google Photos Mistakenly Labels Black People ‘Gorillas’
bits.blogs.nytimes.com · 2015

Google continued to apologize Wednesday for a flaw in Google Photos, which was released to great fanfare in May, that led the new application to mistakenly label photos of black people as “gorillas.”

The company said it had fixed the proble…

Google rushes to fix software that served up racial slur
edition.cnn.com · 2015

Story highlights Google Photos tagged an African-American man's pictures of him and a friend as "Gorillas"

He highlighted the problem on Twitter, drawing the attention of a Google engineer

(CNN) When Jacky Alcine looked at his Google Photos…

Google Photo App Labels Black Couple 'Gorillas'
news.sky.com · 2015

Google has said it is "genuinely sorry" after its image recognition software labelled photographs of a black couple as "gorillas".

The Google Photos application, launched in May, uses an automatic tagging tool to help organise uploaded imag…

Google Apologizes For Tagging Photos Of Black People As ‘Gorillas'
huffingtonpost.com · 2015

When Jacky Alciné checked his Google Photos app earlier this week, he noticed it labeled photos of himself and a friend, both black, as “gorillas.”

The Brooklyn programmer posted his screenshots to Twitter to call out the app’s faulty photo…

Why Google 'Thought' This Black Woman Was a Gorilla
wnycstudios.org · 2015

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Google had a major PR disaster on its hands thanks to …

When It Comes to Gorillas, Google Photos Remains Blind
wired.com · 2018

In 2015, a black software developer embarrassed Google by tweeting that the company’s Photos service had labeled photos of him with a black friend as “gorillas.” Google declared itself “appalled and genuinely sorry.” An engineer who became …

Google Photos Still Has a Problem with Gorillas
technologyreview.com · 2018

In 2015, Google drew criticism when its Photos image recognition system mislabeled a black woman as a gorilla—but two years on, the problem still isn’t properly fixed. Instead, Google has censored image tags relating to many primates.

What’…

Google Removed Gorillas From Search to Fix Racist Algorithm
nymag.com · 2018

It’s been over two years since engineer Jacky Alciné called out Google Photos for auto-tagging black people in his photos as “gorillas.” After being called out, Google promptly and profusely apologized, promising it’d fix the problems in th…

Two years later, Google solves 'racist algorithm' problem by purging 'gorilla' label from image classifier
boingboing.net · 2018

Two years later, Google solves 'racist algorithm' problem by purging 'gorilla' label from image classifier

In 2015, a black software developer named Jacky Alciné revealed that the image classifier used by Google Photos was labeling black pe…

Google's solution to accidental algorithmic racism: ban gorillas
theguardian.com · 2018

Google’s ‘immediate action’ over AI labelling of black people as gorillas was simply to block the word, along with chimpanzee and monkey, reports suggest

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

After Google…

Google has ‘fixed’ its algorithm that categorised people as 'Gorillas' with a not so elegant solution
firstpost.com · 2018

tech2 News Staff

Do you remember the time when Google’s image recognition algorithm created a major controversy after it categorised a black couple as “Gorillas”?

If you don’t then we don’t blame you as this actually happened back in July 2…

Google’s Photo App Still Can’t Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple’s.
nytimes.com · 2023

Eight years after a controversy over Black people being mislabeled as gorillas by image analysis software — and despite big advances in computer vision — tech giants still fear repeating the mistake.

When Google released its stand-alone Pho…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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