Given that every minute, 3.8 million queries are punched into Google's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) famous search engine, it is a pressing concern that there have been higher than average reports of human interference.
Despite executives claiming that the algorithms powering search engines are extremely objective and based on autonomous artificial intelligence, it seems as though the opposite is true. Google has been accused of making human-based alterations to search results that favor certain companies over others and provide consumers with sub-optimal results.
Some of its misdemeanors include the fact that Google has made algorithmic changes that favor large businesses over small ones, and often makes major changes upon discretion for large advertisers like eBay. The company also boosts some major websites, such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) according to people familiar with the matter.
Another issue is that Google engineers often meddle with search results themselves, employing the use of auto-complete suggestions, boxes called "knowledge panels" and "featured snippets," and news results, to circumvent company policies on what can be changed by humans.
In response, Google issued a statement saying: "We have been very public and transparent around the topics covered in this article, such as our Search rater guidelines, our policies for special features in Search like Autocomplete and valid legal removals, our work to combat misinformation through Project Owl and the fact that the changes we make to Search are aimed at benefiting users, not commercial relationships," the statement said.
The tech behemoth continued, "This article contains a number of old, incomplete anecdotes, many of which not only predated our current processes and policies but also give a very inaccurate impression of how we approach building and improving Search. We take a responsible and principled approach to making changes, including a rigorous evaluation process before launching any change-something we started implementing more than a decade ago. Listening to feedback from the public is a critical part of making Search better, and we continue to welcome feedback."