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I's so important for everyone to understand that Google can only approximate describing the real world in a structured way based on vast inputs of unstructured
by gdulli 10y ago
I's so important for everyone to understand that Google can only approximate describing the real world in a structured way based on vast inputs of unstructured data with minimal human attention.
Twice that I can remember, I've gone to a restaurant that existed on Google maps but when I got there I saw had been long closed. That's my fault, Google isn't to blame because there were stale web pages somewhere indicating these restaurants still existed.
But the more Google represents itself as presenting truth without significant qualification, the more they do so with their signature lack of humility or accountability, the more disingenuous it becomes.
I'm skeptical of Google and apparently even I still sometimes make the mistake of assuming its data is correct. How many people don't understand even the basics of how Google gets its data and don't distinguish between the real world and the representation of the world in a database so vast that it could never be vetted?
- Eridrus 10y agoGoogle clearly has sources of data besides scraping the web. I think the right way of looking at this is that if the information you're getting is critical, you should verify it. Consider Google's notification that your flight was delayed as a 99% chance of your flight being delayed (though it is likely much better).