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“Ok Google” Only Giving Progressive Words

26 points by KyleBerezin ↗ HN
I have noticed today that if you query Google Assistant (OK Google) "Give me a random word." or "Teach me a new word." the result is invariably a progressive word. Examples are in order of what it gave me, "Prejudice" "Anti-racism" "Equality" "Prejudice" "Bigotry" "Belonging" "Microaggression" "Oppression" and so on in the same vein.

This is a very odd way to show support for the BLM movement. I used this feature to improve my lexicon, however this feature is now useless. It has a very simple and small (seems like <20 entries) diction.

I have seen no mention of this feature change on the Google dev blog or Google Assistant product updates. Is this the same for everyone? Was this mentioned elsewhere?

7 comments

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legitster
All of Amazon Alexa's jokes are curated by a single person. While they obviously get screened, the guy clearly has a lot of discretion. There is no committee. His taste in humor becomes Alexa's.

I have to imagine it's the same way at Google. There are hundreds of little voice commands. Each one curated by a single person as a passion project. You may be seeing someone's unique interests and personality poking through.

KyleBerezin
The old vocabulary of Google Assistant was surprisingly extensive. It rarely gave me a word I already knew the meaning of.
[dead] moxylush
Newspeak, a controlled language of simplified grammar and restricted vocabulary, meant to limit the freedom of thought—personal identity, self-expression, free will—that threatens the ideology of the régime.
iamthemonster
I just gave it a go, and got "equality" so yes, I'd imagine it's the same for everyone.

As an Australian, it's interesting that this set of words are considered "progressive", or only associated with one half of the political spectrum. With the exception of "micro-aggression", all the other words are surely universally-held values of Western societies?

KyleBerezin
Progressive doesn't necessarily mean liberal. That was just the best word I had to explain it.
yongjik
"Politically charged", maybe?
[dead] Proven
What a crap service. Thankfully I don't use it so I don't have to look for a replacement.