It’s probably a myth that computers are preparing to launch a full-scale war on humanity like in The Terminator, but it’s probably slightly more true that some computers are a little bit racist.

Take Wal-Mart for example. Even though it is the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart still has to contend with racist computer software. How racist? Racist enough to make the suggestion that people looking for DVDs about famous black Americans might be interested in buying Planet Of The Apes.

You know those websites that have a ‘similar items’ suggestion box -
ones that say things like "Other customers who bought CDs by Oasis also
enjoyed CDs by The Beatles," or "Other customers who bought CDs by
James Blunt also enjoyed inserting pineapples up their bottoms sideways
and jabbing corkscrews into their eyes"? Up until very recently, Wal-Mart had some similar software running on it’s shopping website. But
then the system went evil and racist.

People began to notice that when they looked at Planet of the Apes:
The Complete TV Series on DVD, the software suggested that since they
were so interested in monkeys, they might also enjoy watching films
about Martin Luther King Jr, black actress Dorothy Dandridge, black
boxer Jack Johnson and singer Tina Turner. Word spread quickly about Wal-Mart’s racist suggestion software and, according to ABC:

The world’s largest retailer said the software that generates links for
shoppers from one movie to others of similar interest would be shut
down. All cross references would be removed as soon as technically
possible until the system can be fixed.

In a statement, Wal-Mart spokesperson Mona Williams said:

"We are heartsick that this happened and are currently doing
everything possible to correct the problem. Walmart.com’s item mapping process does not work correctly and at
this point is mapping seemingly random combinations of titles. We were
horrified to discover that some hurtful and offensive combinations are
being mapped together… To further illustrate the bizarre nature of this technical issue,
the site is also mapping movies such as Home Alone and Power Puff
Girls to African-American-themed DVDs."

So now Wal-Mart is admitting that African-Americans aren’t just monkeys, they’re also adorable kids that attack Joe Pesci with tins of paint and marbles, and cartoon girl superheroes? Disgraceful.

Read more:

Wal-Mart Halts Movie Suggestions on Web – ABC 

[story by Stuart Heritage]