Google puts Indian PM in criminal search line-up

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Friday was working to get India´s Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of the line-up of photos served up in searches for “Top 10 Criminals.”
Google apologized for any “confusion or misunderstanding” caused by showing Modi alongside US mobster Al Capone and atop pictures of unsavory characters.
“These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google,” the California-based Internet titan said in an email reply to an AFP inquiry.
“Sometimes, the way images are described on the Internet can yield surprising results to specific queries.”
An AFP search for top 10 criminals showed US President Barack Obama further down in photo results, in a row with another picture of Modi.
“We´re continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this,” Google said.
While Google did not provide specifics, it appeared that references to “criminal” in captions or unseen data associated with online images were factored in by search software.
Tech news website NDTV Gadgets said search results are determined by a variety of factors in Google´s algorithms.
Google Maps apologized last month after it emerged that searches using racist language pinpointed the White House, home of President Barack Obama.
The offensive scenario was brought to light after searches combining a racial slur and the word “house” took people to the White House in Google´s free online mapping service in some locations.