All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Nothing is Safe! Google Translate Makes Gender Neutral Languages Sexist

By Sharanya Gopinathan Image courtesy Pixabay

Back on the 28th of November, a tweet by Iranian-American scholar Alex Shams went viral.

Turkish is a gender neutral language. There is no “he” or “she” – everything is just “o”. But look what happens when Google translates to English. Thread: http://pic.twitter.com/mIWjP4E6xw

— Alex Shams (@seyyedreza) November 27, 2017

He explained in the comments that Turkish is a gender neutral language, but when you enter Turkish sentences into Google Translate, the sentences get automatically gendered. And of course, in the most stereotypical manner possible. As his tweet shows, gender-neutral sentences get translated into sexist assumptions, like the idea that engineers are male, and nurses are female, and “she” naturally loves “him”.

Now, Facebook user Dina Utami has found a similar pattern in Bahasa Indonesia, a similarly gender-neutral language.

Shams explains in his thread that this happens because Google Translate picks up on how these words are commonly used online. So if the majority of references in its database to “engineers” are male, it categorises the word as male. He explains the danger of this phenomenon quite comprehensively. “Google Translate magnifies biases that exist in our culture – like unequal access to employment for women in all fields, or culturally constructed notions that women are unhappy, lazy, hopeless romantics always looking for husbands – and transforms them into translations. It has been argued that technology overcomes the biases of human beings, and because it is neutral the increasing automation of the world offers a way out of inequality. But as this small example shows, technology is far from neutral. Technology, like anything else, is what you make of it – and the way we are using technology is currently reinforcing the inequalities and biases of the world around us.”

The post Nothing is Safe! Google Translate Makes Gender Neutral Languages Sexist appeared first on The Ladies Finger.
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GOP Tax Plan Is Igniting a Movement for a Moral Economy

By Sarah AndersonInequality.org If you’re expecting a gift card from your boss as an end-of-year bonus, enjoy it this year because you probably won’t get one in 2018. The Senate tax bill would ban such rewards. Why? Republican lawmakers are determined to prevent ordinary workers from pocketing a $25 or $50 gift card without reporting it as taxable income. Meanwhile, these same politicians… View On WordPress
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GOP Tax Plan Is Igniting a Movement for a Moral Economy

By Sarah Anderson Inequality.org If you’re expecting a gift card from your boss as an end-of-year bonus, enjoy it this year because you probably won’t get one in 2018. The Senate tax bill would ban such rewards. Why? Republican lawmakers are determined to prevent ordinary workers from pocketing a $25 or $50 gift card without reporting it as taxable income. Meanwhile, these same politicians… View On WordPress
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Israel’s pathetic need for recognition

Israel’s pathetic need for recognition

Israel’s pathetic need for recognition Israel’s pathetic need for recognition Israel’s pathetic need for recognition Israel’s pathetic need for recognition Israel’s pathetic need for recognition True this! View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2jr9TXU via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2AXvYHV via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2kwf78q via IFTTT View On… View On WordPress
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Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us

Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us

Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us Jerusalem … a city of it’s people….us Jerusalem is home to all who have lived there for centuries and not just the politicos of the occupation! View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2AEEF9w via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr… View On WordPress
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Sweden to call Security Council meeting over Jerusalem

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Margot Wallström (Social Democrat) is the minister for foreign affairs.

Lyssna: Sweden to call Security Council meeting over Jerusalem

Sweden plans to call for a special meeting of the UN Security Council, where Sweden has one of the rotating seats, after the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Foreign minister Margot Wallström tells Swedish Radio News the American move is not part of a two-state-solution and calls for restraint right now.

 

Beatrice Janzon
beatrice.janzon@sverigesradio.se

Loukas Christodoulou
loukas.christodoulou@sverigesradio.se

Ex-Cop Michael Slager sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing Walter Scott

Thank God for Feidin Santana filming the shooting of #WalterScott. If not for his video #MichaelSlager would have gotten away with murder. May God’s grace, mercy and DIVINE protection be with him. May God’s tender mercies comfort the hearts of Walter Scott’s family. CHARLESTON, S.C. — More than two years ago, the fatal shooting of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott by a white South Carolina……………… View On WordPress
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The Year Women Had No More F*cks to Give

Tags: All the Rage 2017 tested our sanity, but filled us with a purposeful rage. We’re speaking up, naming names, and taking over. By Ma’Chell Duma View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2AD5jND via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2ACKsvX via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2j5YWy9 via IFTTT View On WordPress from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2j1LVG6 via IFTTT…… View On WordPress
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Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital, Escalating Israeli Apartheid

Yesterday afternoon, Donald Trump announced that the United States will formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, ordering the U.S. embassy to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While unsurprising, the move is an escalation of U.S. collusion with Israel at the expense of Palestinian lives. The decision has been widely condemned by Palestinians and world leaders, including the United… View On WordPress
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The Year Women Had No More F*cks to Give

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