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Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt

Search engines have become an essential part of everyone's life, with Google being the most popular. Google Search provides the autocomplete feature for faster and easier search results, offering 10 top suggestions at a time, and these may influence how users view different social groups....

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Main Authors: Al-Abbas, Linda S., Haider, Ahmad S., Hussein, Riyad F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/1/40148-143249-3-PB.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1356
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spelling my-ukm.journal.168172021-06-16T02:53:43Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/ Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt Al-Abbas, Linda S. Haider, Ahmad S. Hussein, Riyad F. Search engines have become an essential part of everyone's life, with Google being the most popular. Google Search provides the autocomplete feature for faster and easier search results, offering 10 top suggestions at a time, and these may influence how users view different social groups. Different scholars have explored online discourse to reveal stereotypes about certain groups. However, little or no attention has been paid to technological affordances to reveal broader gender biases and stereotypes in the Arab World. This study examines how Google autocomplete searches can reflect the Arabs' perspectives on gender. Google Egypt is selected since it is top-rated in the number of internet users. Google is queried by entering a combination of Arabic question wordsfollowed by the Arabic equivalents for men and women. One hundred and ninety questions were generated and categorized according to the qualities they referenced. The most common assumptions about men indicate that they are cheaters, liars, self-dominant, emotionally strong, and smarter than women. They are also stereotyped as being more likely to admire young women, prefer sons over daughters, and desire polygamy. Women, on the other hand, are stereotyped as plotting, materialistic, emotional, and sensitive. The study concludes that since such generalizations may entail exaggerations and are not evidently right all the time, one must be careful about adopting such stereotypes and making them part of each gender's views of the other. Bearing in mind the perpetuating function that technology may have of existing stereotypes and social norms, users and developers of Google alike must pay more attention to gender biases that algorithms may establish and disseminate. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020-11 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/1/40148-143249-3-PB.pdf Al-Abbas, Linda S. and Haider, Ahmad S. and Hussein, Riyad F. (2020) Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt. GEMA ; Online Journal of Language Studies, 20 (4). pp. 95-112. ISSN 1675-8021 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1356
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description Search engines have become an essential part of everyone's life, with Google being the most popular. Google Search provides the autocomplete feature for faster and easier search results, offering 10 top suggestions at a time, and these may influence how users view different social groups. Different scholars have explored online discourse to reveal stereotypes about certain groups. However, little or no attention has been paid to technological affordances to reveal broader gender biases and stereotypes in the Arab World. This study examines how Google autocomplete searches can reflect the Arabs' perspectives on gender. Google Egypt is selected since it is top-rated in the number of internet users. Google is queried by entering a combination of Arabic question wordsfollowed by the Arabic equivalents for men and women. One hundred and ninety questions were generated and categorized according to the qualities they referenced. The most common assumptions about men indicate that they are cheaters, liars, self-dominant, emotionally strong, and smarter than women. They are also stereotyped as being more likely to admire young women, prefer sons over daughters, and desire polygamy. Women, on the other hand, are stereotyped as plotting, materialistic, emotional, and sensitive. The study concludes that since such generalizations may entail exaggerations and are not evidently right all the time, one must be careful about adopting such stereotypes and making them part of each gender's views of the other. Bearing in mind the perpetuating function that technology may have of existing stereotypes and social norms, users and developers of Google alike must pay more attention to gender biases that algorithms may establish and disseminate.
format Article
author Al-Abbas, Linda S.
Haider, Ahmad S.
Hussein, Riyad F.
spellingShingle Al-Abbas, Linda S.
Haider, Ahmad S.
Hussein, Riyad F.
Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
author_facet Al-Abbas, Linda S.
Haider, Ahmad S.
Hussein, Riyad F.
author_sort Al-Abbas, Linda S.
title Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
title_short Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
title_full Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
title_fullStr Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Google autocomplete search algorithms and the Arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of Google Egypt
title_sort google autocomplete search algorithms and the arabs' perspectives on gender: a case study of google egypt
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2020
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/1/40148-143249-3-PB.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16817/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1356
_version_ 1703961594114867200
score 13.211869

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