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Amazon 'Reviewing' Its Website After It Suggested Bomb-Making Items (nytimes.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the fault-in-our-code dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon said on Wednesday that it was reviewing its website after a British television report said the online retail giant's algorithms were automatically suggesting bomb-making ingredients that were "Frequently bought together." The news is particularly timely in Britain, where the authorities are investigating a terrorist attack last week on London's Underground subway system. The attack involved a crude explosive in a bucket inside a plastic bag, and detonated on a train during the morning rush. The news report is the latest example of a technology company drawing criticism for an apparently faulty algorithm. Google and Facebook have come under fire for allowing advertisers to direct ads to users who searched for, or expressed interest in, racist sentiments and hate speech. Growing awareness of these automated systems has been accompanied by calls for tech firms to take more responsibility for the contents on their sites. Amazon customers buying products that were innocent enough on their own, like cooking ingredients, received "Frequently bought together" prompts for other items that would help them produce explosives, according to the Channel 4 News.

4 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Apparently faulty algorithm? by hey! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If that's the case, then it's not a problem. You're just showing ads for plastic buckets to people who don't want to build a bomb. I suspect the worry is that the algorithm might actually be working. In which case it's still not a problem. Once you have the recipe for a plastic bucket bomb, finding the bucket isn't a major obstacle.

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    1. Re:Apparently faulty algorithm? by hey! · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, I suppose this is an occasion for Bayesian reasoning. The probability that you buy bomb ingredients given that you're a terrorist being high doesn't mean that the probability that you are terrorist given that you buy bomb ingredients is necessarily high. In fact even if someone is *definitely* building a bomb, it doesn't automatically mean they are a terrorist.

      On YouTube there's a whole genre of videos devoted to large Tannerite explosions. Tannerite is an impact-initiated binary explosive that is popular for making shooting targets. Normally it's used in small quantities but of course there are many videos of people setting off very large Tannerite explosions, involving hundreds of pounds of the stuff.

      Some people are just fascinated with explosives. So what you have to ask is whether it is more common to be into blowing things up for DIY amusement or blowing things up to hurt people. Where people go wrong with this kind of question is they rely on their intuition in guessing prior probabilities. If blowing things up holds no fascination for them, they assume that that kind of thing must be rare, or even non-existent.

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  2. Something similar happened when I bought duct tape by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I bought a few rolls of duct tape from amazon and it suggested cable ties, rope and heavy duty tie down loops. How many people need to buy a full kidnap kit from amazon for this to register as "Items frequently bought together"?

  3. Re:deleting reviews and now this? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's not accurate - it seems they removed non "Verified Purchaser" reviews, which were predominantly one star

    Who are you going to believe -- a clearly unbiased (cough) Slate author, or your lying eyes? A sampling of verified negative reviews:

    By BabaLa on September 14, 2017
    Format: Kindle Edition | Verified Purchase
    I wrote a verified purchase review and it has been deleted 3 times. If Amazon doesn't like what we have to say, don't ask for input.

    By The Just-About-Average Ms. M on September 17, 2017
    Format: Kindle Edition | Verified Purchase
    I purchased this book four days ago in the Kindle format. My review was of the book specifically and not the author. And like the review of a number of other folks, mine has been deleted four times.

    And some examples of non-verified, positive reviews that are still up:

    By thomas on September 19, 2017
    Format: Hardcover
    Great book, better than exoected

    By tweetdeck on September 17, 2017
    Format: Hardcover
    Best book ever