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Google is trying to crack down on phony information in search results

 1 year ago
source link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-is-trying-to-crack-down-on-phony-information-in-search-results-040119328.html
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Google is trying to crack down on phony information in search results

Daniel Howley
·Technology Editor
Thu, August 11, 2022, 1:01 PM·4 min read
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Have you ever tried Googling controversial topics like the 2020 presidential election or the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines? Unfortunately, the internet is awash in conspiracy theories and other misinformation related to subjects like these.

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) said on Thursday that it’s trying to cut down on phony content by improving the quality of results in its so-called featured snippets and making it easier for users to find the sources of information they find on Google. To do that, the company says it’s rolling out a new artificial intelligence model called Multitask Unified Model, or MUM.

Featured snippets are the short answers you get to frequently asked questions in your Google search results. Ask a question like “How tall is the Empire State Building?” and Google spits out a quick answer above the list of site results with an answer.

Sometimes, however, those snippets will provide an answer that's technically accurate, but doesn't fit a user’s query. Google Search VP Pandu Nayak says a recent example was when a user asked how long it took light from the Sun to reach Earth, and the featured snippet pulled in data from a site about the solar system and how long it took light from Pluto to reach the Earth.

Google's new artificial intelligence model aims to prevent those snippets from pulling in erroneous information. With this update, Google grabs a consensus answer from sites that demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness for a related topic and spits out the featured snippet.

Nayak says an example of a site that demonstrates these qualities would be a health site produced by a medical institution.

Google is ensuring snippets are accurate with a new AI model. (Image: Google)
Google is ensuring snippets are accurate with a new AI model. (Image: Google)

What if the top results come from sham sites? Nayak says Google can determine which sites are low quality or use exaggerated titles, spread lies, or preach hate, and won’t use them for featured snippets.

To prevent featured snippets from pulling in information when they shouldn’t, Nayak explained, the company is ensuring the feature can recognize false premises. Nayak used the example of a person searching for the year Snoopy assassinated Lincoln. Previously, a featured snippet would provide the date of Lincoln’s death, but not tell the user that a cartoon dog wasn’t involved.


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