By Muneeza Iqbal

Filed under: Technology, Retail, Investing

Remember a few years ago when Facebook (FB) started suggesting you “reconnect” with old friends, and some of its suggestions were exes and ex-friends you really didn’t need to be reminded of? That was an algorithm they used — and fortunately got rid of — to help people connect with friend’s they hadn’t had much recent activity with on the site.

Because of embarrassing algorithm fails like this one, companies are slowly starting to delegate work away from the computers and back to humans. Twitter for example, has real people always ready to interpret the context of a search when there is a sudden surge in its frequency. When Mitt Romney referenced Big Bird during the presidential debates last year, there was a gush of people searching for “Big Bird.” A computer would automatically direct these people to “Sesame Street” related hits, but real humans knew otherwise.

Those automated algorithms remain the most obvious and efficient way to keep up with today’s fast-paced world: Computer programs can be better equipped to spot trends or even deal with consumers’ intricate demands than flesh-and-blood employees. But what happens when an algorithm fails? Putting a bit too much authority into the virtual hands of a program can — and has — led to some epic fails. Before they replace any more workers with software, companies might want to consider the following cases of good algorithms gone bad.

Random Rudeness on T-shirts

No so long ago, business was booming for Michael Fowler‘s online T-shirt company, Solid Gold Bomb. The tiny, five-worker company had became known for their customizable “Keep Calm and Carry On” T-shirts that let the consumer to modify the now-famous logo in countless ways. Fowler had designed an algorithm that would randomly select short, two-word phrases to follow “Keep Calm and … ,” thus creating a unique shirt that the customer could order. If they didn’t like what the computer picked, they could simply try again for a phrase more to their liking.

Slogans like “Keep Calm and Drink Beer” quickly became favorites. But then something went wrong. A few weekends ago, Fowler was relaxing in his Melbourne home when Facebook notifications started pouring in: death threats and accusations of misogyny. Turns out, the algorithm’s dictionary hadn’t been culled for potentially offensive content, and suddenly customers were being offered shirts with phrases like “Keep Calm and Hit Her.” Indeed, some had already been ordered. Fowler canceled them all, and deleted the offensive options — indeed, deleted almost all of the parody “Keep Calm” shirts — from the site. He claims these were just computer-generated images and that none had actually been printed.

The company has posted a lengthy apology on its site, but sales have plummeted and Fowler is afraid the company …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance