Google will not acknowledge Holocaust

[ChalaGirl]

I have asked Google for information related to a) the Holocaust b) Nazi Germany and c) genocides during WWII and d) concentration camps under the Nazi Regime. It not only responds with “I don’t understand” to all these enquiries but says the same when I ask who perished most during the Holocaust? What gives? 

[MplsCustomer]

@ChalaGirl 

Like all searches, I think it depends on how you word your search. If I say, "Hey Google, what is the Holocaust", I get an explanation of Nazi Germany's killing of Jewish people before and during World War II. A Google search in my browser yields multiple results.

[ChalaGirl]

I asked exactly what you just suggested and same thing: “I don’t understand”.

[ChalaGirl]

Please note this is only happening with my google mini speaker

[MplsCustomer]

@ChalaGirl 

I just tried this on our Nest Mini and also got "I'm sorry, I don't understand." Since the Nest Mini does not have a screen, my guess is that it cannot treat the question as a search because there's no place to display the results. And maybe, with a subject as complex and emotional as the Holocaust, I think it would be next to impossible to provide an automated canned brief spoken response that would be at all adequate.  So maybe Google Nest simply chooses to not respond.

We never try to query our Nest Mini on such subjects; it's just not a device suited for such questions.

[ChalaGirl]

I ask it questions all the time and for the most part get an answer for everything, even if it’s a short answer I can continue to ask it questions. I can ask about the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire, the war in former Yukoslavia or even the genocide thaf was Rwanda and I still get answers. But the Holocaust or ANYTHING related to it - nothing. It’s a problem.

[Muddi]

Hello ChalaGirl,

Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate @MplsCustomer for helping here. Sorry to hear that you're having issues with your Google Nest Mini. Let's get this sorted out. To confirm, has it worked before? Does the same thing happen when you ask the Google Assistant app on your phone? What is the current firmware version of your device? Also, could you provide the specific questions that you're asking to your Nest Mini so I can check if I will get the same response on our devices?

Looking forward to your response.

Cheers,

Muddi

[ChalaGirl]

Thanks Muddi for your assistance.

System firmware version: 375114
Cast firmware: 2.57.375114


I am speaking only about talking to Nest and asking it overall basic short answer questions, the silly salient things we sometimes forget and need a reminder of… nothing abstract. Some examples are “Ok Google tell me what happened during the Holocaust” or “what was the Holocaust” or “can you tell me about the concentration camp Dachau” or “what was the biggest genocide of the 20th century?” or “who was targeted the most during the Holocaust?” or “what symbol did Jews wear in the concentration  camps?” the latter of which I got “my apologies I don’t understand.” I am telling you it’s like that whole part of history is wiped out on the Neat which I have no doubt could be extremely triggering for some given what’s going on in the world and with deniers etc. I simply wanted Google to take a strong note about it especially now that I know this is happening to other people too!

[leftyshmefty]

I have discovered the same thing. It will not even answer the question: " how many deaths are attributed to Adolf Hitler?" . It has an answer for Joeseph Stalin, BTW, although I believe the answer given is grossly underestimated.

[MplsCustomer]

There aren't simple or precise answers to either question. Are you talking about direct or indirect deaths? According to which sources?

I only ask Google Assistant the simplest of questions, and treat its answers with a degree of skepticism. I don't think it's a tool suited for complicated or difficult issues.

I wouldn't think of asking Google Assistant what happened during the Holocaust. Any meaningful oral answer on a Nest Mini would be quite lengthy, just as my answer would be if my grandchildren asked me that question, and in the latter case it would be a somber dialog with explanations and side conversations.

[ChalaGirl]

There are basic short answers to questions surrounding the WWII or other periods in history whether it’s to spell something or make an observation - that’s my point here people - there is NOtHInG short or long available as info on Hitler the Nazis or the Holocaust nor those who perished in the camps - ie what symbol did Jews wear? It doesn’t answer - this is my point.

[MplsCustomer]

@ChalaGirl 

If Google Assistant were an informed and conscientious human being talking to you, it could give short answers to such questions, and it could understand where you're coming from in asking them, but even then some give-and-take would probably be needed.

If you do Google Searches on such questions, you rightfully get numerous results (thousands or millions!) from numerous sources, and you can decide which of the results are reasonable and reliable.

Google Assistant is a very limited tool; I think it's quite a stretch to conclude that, because it is incapable of answering such questions, "Google does not acknowledge the Holocaust".

I would not want to rely on something like Google Assistant to tell me whether or not the Holocaust was real. Maybe it's just me, but I don't use Google Assistant for an answer to anything except the simplest of questions, and then VERY rarely. I just have no interest in talking to Google Assistant.

[ChalaGirl]

Not sure if I making myself clear - if you ask Google Mini what year was the Holocaust, it won’t tell you. Do you understand? Ask about any other year in history around the world and it does. So seriously, this IS an oversight; and yes Google Mini is not acknowledging it. And as consumers we have a right to question that. I’m not alone here in my observations so perhaps instead of judging or criticizing you can kindly allow others to comment on possible fixes or solutions? I appreciate your comments but they are on repeat.  

[MplsCustomer]

@ChalaGirl 

I understand Google Mini won't tell you. I tried your questions on ours. I suggest it simply cannot provide an adequate answer, and Google Nest decided the response would be "I don't understand" instead if "It's too complicated for this tool to answer".  And I would rather have no answer than some simplistic and possibly inaccurate answer dreamt up by someone at Google.

"What year was the Holocaust?"  Well, one could say that the Holocaust lasted from March 1933, when the Dachau concentration camp was first established, until May 1945, when Nazi Germany finally surrendered. The killing continued right up until Germany's surrender, even while the German army was collapsing.  But the details are complicated; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Holocaust Encyclopedia's timeline alone is dozens of pages long (https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline/holocaust). The JewishGen website's timeline is shorter, but still detailed: https://www.jewishgen.org/forgottencamps/general/timeeng.html.

[Blahdidah]

I noticed the same problem tonight. I'll provide my questions:

• Hey Google how many people died in the Holocaust? (Didn't understand)
• Hey Google, how many Jewish people died in the Holocaust? (Did not understand)
• Hey Google how many people died in WWII? (Facts from Wikipedia)
• Hey google, how many Americans died in the gulf war? (Facts from Wikipedia)
• Hey Google, how many Americans died in WWII? (Facts)
• Hey google, how many Germans died in WWII? (Facts, mentioned camps)
• Hey Google, what were concentration camps? (Surprisingly I got answers)
• Hey google how many people died in concentration camps in WWII? (Did not understand)

I know that people are horrible, but some sort of canned response is a good idea. I mean Google answers a lot of questions by directing me to my phone to learn more, why not this? The "I don't understand" makes it seem like they're trying to hide that the Holocaust happened. 

[MplsCustomer]

I'm just another Google Nest customer, but while this is odd, I really don't think that "they" are trying to hide that the Holocaust happened. Who is "they"? The Google Nest subdivision? All of these questions yield detailed answers when submitted to a Google search.

That said, I don't know what exactly is going on here. When I tried these searches on my Nest Hub, the readout at the top of the screen capitalized "Holocaust". And it capitalized "Holocaust' when I asked, "Hey Google, what is the event called the Holocaust?" even though it answered that it didn't understand.

Interestingly, when I asked, "Hey Google, what was the Final Solution", I got a specific, detailed answer with text displayed on the screen along with an image of Hitler. When I asked, "Hey Google, when did the Holocaust occur?", it said the Holocaust started January 30, 1933. And when I asked, "Hey Google, when did the Holocaust end?", it said May 8, 1945.

Maybe Google Nest Support could answer why Google Assistant says it doesn't understand most questions about the Holocaust and gives no answer at all.  After all, sometimes when Google Assistant says it doesn't understand, it still adds "...but I found these results on the Internet" with a list of results.

[Blahdidah]

It's odd, I don't think it's a conspiracy or anything, but people (including myself at times) will read into things that have no meaning. This has been a continuous problem (based on my googling) since June of this year. Our Google Hub (which has had so many name changes, I'm not sure what it's called anymore, it's a google speaker with a small screen) will respond to ANY of my above-posted questions. It gives answers and is accurate, as far as I'm aware. Only the google Mini won't understand the questions. I'm not sure what generation of Google Mini it is, because we're kind of avid Google users around here, so we have a lot of speakers. My friends were able to duplicate my results on their google minis at home as well. It seems to me it avoids specific words in searches, though my experience is limited. If it's got logic to avoid answering those questions (for whatever reason the company has) then the logic could be easily changed to one of their other solutions for questions. Like If I ask "Hey Google What was the Holocaust" It could do what you said, "I don't understand... but I found these results, and sent them to your phone" so that people are at least provided information.