I am a fan of Google Docs. I wrote the first draft of this Corner post in a Google Doc. But Google is rolling out a new feature in that application that I definitely intend not to use, and that even makes me question whether I should be using Google Docs at all. Here’s how Google itself describes what it calls these new “assistive writing suggestions”:
We’ve added several new assistive writing features in Google Docs, which will provide a variety of tone and style suggestions to help you create impactful documents faster. Specifically, you’ll see suggestions for:
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Word choice: More dynamic or contextually relevant wording
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Active voice: Active rather than passive voice
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Conciseness: More concise phrases
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Inclusive language: More inclusive words or phrases
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Word warnings: Reconsidering potentially inappropriate words
Ah, good: “Inclusive language.” I’m sure that won’t be malleable or prone to abuse.
These new features are being rolled out gradually since the announcement about them in late March. Staff at Motherboard, who lean more toward inclusivity than I do, nonetheless have already noted some of the silliness that has ensued. For one, “Motherboard” itself, when typed into a Google Doc, prompted Google thus: “Inclusive warning. Some of these words may not be inclusive to all readers. Consider using different words.” Google also recommended “property owner” or “proprietor” when “landlord” was used.
Motherboard notes that, as of now, the feature even fails on its own terms:
Google suggested that Martin Luther King Jr. should have talked about “the intense urgency of now” rather than “the fierce urgency of now” in his “I Have a Dream” speech and edited President John F. Kennedy’s use in his inaugural address of the phrase “for all mankind” to say “for all humankind.” A transcribed interview of neo-Nazi and former Klan leader David Duke—in which he uses the N-word and talks about hunting Black people—gets no notes. Radical feminist Valerie Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto gets more edits than Duke’s tirade; she should use “police officers” instead of “policemen,” Google helpfully notes. Even Jesus (or at least the translators responsible for the King James Bible) doesn’t get off easily—rather than talking about God’s “wonderful” works in the Sermon on the Mount, Google’s robot asserts, He should have used the words “great,” “marvelous,” or “lovely.”
So are users of Google Docs stuck with this feature? Not yet. It is “ON by default” but “can be disabled by the user.” I did not see any inclusivity warnings when drafting my Corner post. But I know what I’ll be doing if and when they start popping up.