User:SBdolphin90/sandbox

Many people think of search algorithms as math algorithms; however, they are more a set of commands that tell the search engine what to display. The book answers the question in what ways algorithms in search engines, and how individual searches, reinforce racism, sexism, oppression, and discrimination. Dr. Noble mainly focuses on Google's search engine as it is one of the largest growing search engines, due to it's ease of access and free use; and the user's repeated decision not to search for the credibility of the sources given before assuming as a valid fact.

If people are inherently biased, then it would be ignorant to assume that these biases cannot enter into our work. This can include the search algorithms that individuals create, and the types of searches that are conducted by users. There are other ways that search engines can be biased such as the user's searches. The more a word or topic is searched for, the higher weighted value is given to these words or topics increasing their prevalence in search results. Also the amount of money an individual has gives them the freedom to buy space that others cannot, this leaves open wealth discrimination; not to mention if these individuals or corporations have biased views against a group of individuals than these views can become more prevalent in search results to the public. Dr. Noble explains that if you cannot afford to purchase ad spaces at the top of search engines, or afford search engine optimization, then your web pages are unlikely to make the first page of a search engine.