ɔᴚAug 7, 2024

So I’ve been using Microsoft Stream at work to auto-caption videos. Part of my job is quality assurance so I double-check the captions for errors.

One recent annoyance is that the captioning software censors some words, replacing them with asterisks. One word in particular that has been a thorn in my side is the word “nipple”. I have had to work on several BREASTFEEDING videos. Needless to say, I’ve been retyping in the word “nipple” a lot.

Come to today, I’m working on a video about transgender and non-binary folks. The speaker said, “There is no such thing as straight sex and gay sex.” Lo and behold Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided to censor the words “gay sex”. “Straight sex” is uncensored.

I’m fucking livid, but I have no real way to contact Microsoft on this. But, mark it down and spread the word, Microsoft are fucking homophobic prudes.

Show threadThe Nexus of Privacy

Yikes. @shanselman I know this isn't your group but could you please pass the word?

It's a really bad look for Microsoft in general. I've often pointed people to Microsofts excellent AI Impact Assessment resources and the Responsiable AI Toolbox but stuff like this gives the impression that it's just PR work rather than practices that get consistenlty applied internally. And, if the underlying models that Microsoft Stream is using are shared across groups, then this kind of anti-gay bias may well be showing up in other tools.

@RC

Aug 7, 2024 at 6:40pmWeb
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Aug 8, 2024
@thenexusofprivacy @RC sure email me scottha@ Microsoft. It’s likely a false positive through the base models anti-bias tech that is tuned up too much. There are knobs that change the “how paranoid” should the filter be. There’s no intent or conscious evil behind this even though it feels and seems gross on its face. It’s a constant balancing act. Email me and I’ll make sure the right people see it! Promise.
Show threadThe Nexus of PrivacyAug 8, 2024
Thanks much, Scott! @shanselman @RC
Show threadɔᴚAug 8, 2024
@shanselman @[email protected] thanks Scott. I’ll email you tomorrow when I have access to my work PC.