Google patents a way search results could be affected by your accent
Google has patented voice search technology which could see your results determined by your accent.
According to Quartz, the patent awarded last week would allow for it to assess users’ accents and predict their preferences for restaurants, places, and movies based on the way they speak.
'Accent-influenced search results' would offer you results based on the data left by people with similar accents to you, including reviews they have left online.
Google gives this example: "If English-language speakers with a French-language accent show a preference for a particular result for the query terms 'restaurants in Scranton' than do English-language speakers with a Russian-language accent, a search engine will be more likely to select that particular result for another user who provides a voice query in the English language with a French-language accent.
"The preference for that particular search result would not be reflected in search results that are generated for other users that do not have that particular accent."
Although it may be a well-intentioned move towards greater contextuality in search, as Wired reports, such a system could be controversial if Google were seen to be casting itself "in the role of tastemaker".