Elon Musk criticized a feature in Microsoft Word known as “Inclusivity Checker,” where he claimed he was “reprimanded” for typing the word “insane.”
The billionaire owner of Tesla posted a screenshot of a Microsoft Word document that discussed Tesla’s new Cybertruck and highlighted the new electric vehicle’s “unusual stability.”
The phrase was flagged by Word’s software, which identifies terms and phrases considered politically incorrect and suggests alternative wording.
“Microsoft Word now scolds you for using words that are not ‘inclusive’,” wrote the world’s richest man on his social media platform.
Musk also posted a screenshot showing an attempt to type “11,000 pounds,” though it’s unclear why that term would be considered non-inclusive.
The prompt in Microsoft Word says, “Think about it from a different perspective,” and suggests alternatives such as “11,000 pounds” or “11,000 pounds (about twice the weight of an elephant).”
The Post has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
Other social media users posted screenshots of attempts to use the terms flagged by the software’s “inclusivity checker.”
One user wrote in a Word document: “Hello, could you please guard the booth this afternoon?”
The checker, which is only available to customers on the Windows maker’s $7 per month Microsoft 365 subscription plan, flags the phrase “man in the booth” as a “gender-neutral term” and suggests “staff” and “control” as alternatives.
Other terms flagged by the “inclusivity checker” include “postman” (suggested substitute: “postal worker”) and “master” (“expert”).
GitHub, a Microsoft-owned open-source software engineering site, banned the use of the phrases “master” and “slave” in response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020, deeming them racially insensitive.
Beginning in 2020, updated versions of Microsoft Word flag the use of language promoting age bias, gender bias, cultural slurs, sexual orientation bias, and racial bias, with a built-in feature that prompts users to do so.
Users must manually enable this feature by opening a new Word document and clicking the “Editor” button, then selecting “Proofreading” in the settings section.
There is a drag-down menu for “Grammar and Refinement” near the “Writing Style” option. The user must push the “Settings” button, displaying a drag-down menu where the user can click on the box under the “Inclusiveness” category.
When the “inclusivity checker” is activated, the software flags terms that are not included in the “approved” and “allowed” lists of terms.
When a user types the word “humanity,” the software flags the term and suggests alternatives such as “human race” or “human race.” Users can also simply ignore the prompt and accept the term.
Source: nypost.com
