THE NEWS WRAP: Google’s photo algorithm sorts people of colour into a folder called “gorillas”

Google has once again fucked up.

 

Not long after directing Google Maps users to US President Barack Obama’s place of residence when they type in ‘n—– house’, the company has apologised for an algorithm that sorted a man and his friend into an album tagged ‘gorillas’.

 

 

 

 

Google’s head of social systems reached out to the man on Twitter, according to Fairfax, and the company has since apologised.

 

“There is still clearly a lot of work to do with automatic image labelling, and we’re looking at how we can prevent these types of mistakes from happening in the future,” Google said in a statement.

 

Shapeways snaps up $US30 million in funding

Shapeways, the world’s largest 3D printing marketplace, has snapped up $US30 million in Series D funding in order to build new features and improve its supply chain.

 

The round was led by INKEF Capital, with participation from Hewlett Packard Ventures, Presidio Ventures and existing investors.

 

The capital injection follows a $US30 million Series C round a little over two years ago.

 

Since launching in 2008, Shapeways has 3D printed more than 2.5 million products.

 

Co-founder and chief executive Peter Weijmarshausen said in a statement that the company is redefining how products are being made.

 

“The partners in this funding round share our vision that manufacturing is moving from analog to digital and as a result it will disrupt product creation, and make it more accessible to everyone,” he said.

Snapchat listens to users with weary thumbs

Snapchat is rolling out an update that will mean users will no longer have to press and hold their finger on the screen in order to view a snap.

 

Instead, users can now see a snap or watch a friend’s story just by clicking it—meaning Snapchat can now potentially experiment with longer videos.

 

“This means no more tired thumbs while watching a several-hundred-second Story… and a little getting used to for anyone who has been Snapchatting for a while,” the company announced in a blog post.

 

Snapchat is reportedly worth more than $15 billion.

 

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 138.41 points, rising 0.79% overnight to 17,757.91. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 76 US cents.

 

Raising your first round of capital? Starting a crowdfunding campaign? Want to grow your business with Instagram? StartupSmart School can help.

COMMENTS