In this image made available on Tuesday April 16, 2019 flames and smoke rise from the blaze as the spire starts to topple on Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Monday, April 15, 2019. An inferno that raged through Notre Dame Cathedral for more than 12 hours destroyed its spire and its roof but spared its twin medieval bell towers, and a frantic rescue effort saved the monument's "most precious treasures," including the Crown of Thorns purportedly worn by Jesus, officials said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Thierry Mallet)
April 16, 2019 - 12:35 PM
SAN FRANCISCO - Internet users who tuned in to YouTube to watch live video of Notre Dame Cathedral on fire might have been surprised to see background information about 9-11 attached to the footage.
The culprit: an automated YouTube system recently put in place to combat conspiracy theories and fake material that spreads in the wake of some news events.
YouTube says the background information — consisting of an entry from the Encyclopedia Britannica — was mistakenly placed there by the system's algorithms and was quickly taken down.
But the incident is the latest example of artificial intelligence misfiring, and a sign that we have a long way to go before AI becomes smart enough to understand nuance and context.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019