Google Docs Criticized for 'Woke' Inclusive Language Suggestions
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Google Docs criticised for 'woke' inclusive language suggestions
The tool will offer guidance to people writing in a way that "may not be inclusive to all readers" in a similar manner to spelling and grammar check systems.
Although the suggestions are just suggestions - they aren't forced on writers and the tool may be turned off - critics have described it as "speech-policing" and "profoundly clumsy, creepy and wrong".
The new feature is officially called assistive writing and will be on by default for enterprise users, business customers who might want to nudge particular writing styles among their staff.
The language the system favours reflects decades of campaigning for gender-neutral terms ("crewed" instead of "manned") and against phrases that reflect racial prejudice ("deny list" instead of "blacklist"), as well as more modern concerns about the impact of our vocabulary on how we identify people.
But despite enormous developments in how computers understand natural language, the technology is still in its infancy.
Among the words that the system has flagged in tests are "mankind", "housewife", "landlord" and even a computer "motherboard" - which may not cause offence.
Google Embraces Woke Culture: You Will Now Be Flagged for Using Politically Incorrect Words While Searching
The Sun reported that Silkie Carlo of Big Brother Watch called Google's move toward inclusive language "deeply intrusive." Carlo further stated that "Google is not only reading every word you type but telling you what to type."
"This speech-policing is profoundly clumsy, creepy and wrong, often reinforcing bias. Invasive tech like this undermines privacy, freedom of expression and increasingly freedom of thought." Carlo said.
The Daily Mail reported that Sam Bowman of online magazine Works in Progress said, "It feels pretty hectoring and adds an unwanted political/cultural slant to what I'd rather was a neutral product [as] a user."
On the other hand, a Google spokesman said, "Our technology is always improving, and we don't yet [have] a solution to identifying and mitigating all unwanted word associations and biases."