Navigating controversy as a complex search task

Shiri Dori-Hacohen, Elad Yom-Tov, James Allan

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Seeking information on a controversial topic is often a complex task, for both the user and the search engine. There are multiple subtleties involved with information seeking on controversial topics. Here we discuss some of the challenges in addressing these complex tasks, describing the spectrum between cases where there is a clear "right" answer, through fact disputes and moral debates, and discuss cases where search queries have a measurable effect on the well-being of people. We briefly survey the current state of the art, and the many open questions remaining, including both technical challenges and the possible ethical implications for search engine algorithms.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCEUR Workshop Proceedings
Volume1338
StatePublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes
Event1st International Workshop on Supporting Complex Search Tasks, SCST 2015 - Co-located with the 37th European Conference on Information Retrieval, ECIR 2015 - Vienna, Austria
Duration: 29 Mar 2015 → …

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Computer Science

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