Are Google's linguistic prosthesis biased towards commercially more interesting expressions? A preliminary study on the linguistic effects of autocompletion algorithms.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_21A5EBA38E71
Type
Inproceedings: an article in a conference proceedings.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Are Google's linguistic prosthesis biased towards commercially more interesting expressions? A preliminary study on the linguistic effects of autocompletion algorithms.
Title of the conference
Conference Abstracts
Author(s)
Jobin Anna, Kaplan Frederic
Publisher
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
Organization
Digital Humanities 2013, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Address
Lincoln NE, US
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Pages
245-248
Language
english
Abstract
Google's linguistic prosthesis have become common
mediators between our intended queries and their actual
expressions. By correcting a mistyped word or extending a
small string of letters into a statistically plausible
continuation, Google offers a valuable service to users.
However, Google might also be transforming a keyword with
no or little value into a keyword for which bids are more
likely. Since Google's word bidding algorithm accounts
for most of the company's revenues, it is reasonable to
ask whether linguistic prosthesis are biased towards
commercially more interesting expressions. This study
describes a method allowing for progressing in this
understanding. Based on an optimal experiment design
algorithm, we are reconstructing a model of Google's
autocompletion and value assignment functions. We can
then explore and question the various possible
correlations between the two functions. This is a first
step towards the larger goal of understanding how
Google's linguistic economy impacts natural language.
Keywords
Google, web search, commodification of words, linguistic prosthesis
Create date
12/11/2013 16:06
Last modification date
21/08/2019 5:17
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