5 June 2017 - machine fiasco 3

Speaking of internet advertising: At one point, the advertisers (maybe cued by the news stories I was reading) seemed to conclude that I was a black man and tried to sell me guns. Seriously. But algorithms vary. The ads on the weather site that I use believe that I am a woman and try to sell me dresses and jewelry. It’s easy to tell; a jewelry ad aimed at a woman is different than one aimed at a man, because advertisers are more prejudiced than their public. And they have created servants in their own image.