Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Microsoft ‘Deeply Sorry’ for Tay’s Twitter Rants

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    March 29, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Microsoft

      Microsoft issued a public apology after its latest foray into artificial intelligence (AI) took an unfortunate turn. Last week, the company was forced to shut down its AI chatbot Tay after it began spouting racist and offensive tweets.

      A Microsoft spokesperson told eWEEK that Tay’s bad behavior was the result “of a coordinated effort by some users to abuse Tay’s commenting skills to have Tay respond in inappropriate ways,” in an email statement Thursday.

      Designed to mimic a young, good-natured American Millennial woman, Tay’s replies were meant to be amusing and entertaining. Within hours of being introduced to Twitter’s massive user base, the Tay account (@TayandYou) began parroting and ultimately generating her own racially and politically charged Twitter conversations.

      On Friday, Peter Lee, corporate vice president of Microsoft Research, weighed in on the issue. “We are deeply sorry for the unintended offensive and hurtful tweets from Tay, which do not represent who we are or what we stand for, nor how we designed Tay,” he said in a March 25 blog post.

      Encouraged by the popularity of the company’s XiaoIce chatbot in China, where it is used by 40 million people, Microsoft decided to launch Tay, aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. Despite stress testing, filtering technologies and sweeping user studies, Tay debuted with an unnoticed flaw.

      “Although we had prepared for many types of abuses of the system, we had made a critical oversight for this specific attack,” explained Lee. “As a result, Tay tweeted wildly inappropriate and reprehensible words and images. We take full responsibility for not seeing this possibility ahead of time.”

      Microsoft is working on fixing the vulnerability, added Lee. The software giant is using the incident as a lesson to improve its public-facing AI software. Although the company will attempt to limit possible technical exploits in the future, Lee cautioned that making an AI that interacts with the public is not without its risks. Microsoft “cannot fully predict all possible human interactive misuses without learning from mistakes,” he added.

      To date, Microsoft’s public experiments with AI have been largely benign.

      Last month, the company launched Fetch, an iOS app that identify dogs and determines their breeds. The app is based on Project Oxford, a cloud-based collection of machine learning and AI software. Other Project Oxford examples include TwinsOrNot.net and the viral hit How-Old.net.

      Naturally, Microsoft isn’t the only tech giant pursuing AI technologies. In October, Apple acquired Perceptio for an undisclosed amount. The AI startup specializes in image classification systems for smartphones.

      In November, Google open-sourced the main component of TensorFlow, enabling other companies and startups to expand on the search giant’s photo-analyzing AI and to integrate it into their apps. Last week, the company announced the alpha release of Cloud Machine Learning at GCP Next 2016 (Google Cloud Platform User Conference). Cloud Machine Learning is a framework for building and training custom models used by intelligent applications.

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×