New Version of Microsoft Word Will Edit For Political Correctness!

Fox News had the following to say about the stupid new feature:

Microsoft is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to boost the use of “inclusive language” in Word.

The feature is part of Ideas in Word, a forthcoming AI-powered online tool designed to improve users’ writing.

“Beginning this fall, people working in Word Online who are in search of inspiration and insights on how to make their document better will be able to receive intelligent suggestions with Ideas – a feature that is already making people more productive in PowerPoint and Excel,” explained John Roach in Microsoft’s AI blog this week. “The Ideas in Word feature uses machine learning and intelligence from Microsoft Graph to help users write polished prose, create more professional documents and efficiently navigate documents created by others.”

In addition to “familiar fixes for spelling and grammatical errors,” Ideas in Word will also offer “advice on more concise and inclusive language,” according to Microsoft. In the blog post, Roach used the example of “police officer,” instead of “policeman.”

Fast Company has more details on the program:

Microsoft will soon preview a version of Word that will use artificial intelligence to make your writing not just grammatically but politically correct.

Microsoft doesn’t call it a “political correctness check,” but that’s essentially what it is. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Actually Microsoft calls it “Ideas in Word,” which refers to a series of AI-driven features that help you format your document and write better.

For instance, Word will decode acronyms for you, and tell you how long it’ll take to read a given document. It’ll also underline words or phrases that sound insensitive, and suggest corrections.

Say you write, “We need to get some fresh blood in here.” The AI is likely to underline “fresh blood” and suggest “new employees” instead.

It might underline places where your writing exhibited gender bias. If you tend to say “mailman” or Congressman” in the generic, it might suggest you use “mailperson” or “Congressperson.” If you use the term “gentlemen’s agreement,” it may suggest you use “unspoken agreement” instead.

If you describe someone as a “disabled person” the AI would suggest “person with a disability.” Person-first terminology is preferred because it portrays the person as more important than the disability.