https://archive.is/aAYMx :

Microsoft Says Its Chinese-language Chat Bot Filters Certain Topics

'Last week, CNNMoney and China Digital Times reported that Xiaoice would not directly respond to questions surrounding topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese state. '

'References to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 or “Steamed Bun Xi,” a nickname of Chinese President Xi Jinping, would draw evasive answers or non sequiturs from the chat bot, according to the report.“Am I stupid?'

'Microsoft says that Xiaoice engages in conversations with over 40 million Chinese users on social media platform like Weibo and WeChat, reports CNNMoney — a runaway success compared with Tay , Xiaoice’s ill-fated counterpart which was essentially pranked into sending hateful messages while it was briefly active on Twitter. '

'In response to inquiries from Fortune, Microsoft confirmed that there was some filtering around Xiaoice’s interaction.“We are committed to creating the best experience for everyone chatting with Xiaoice,” a Microsoft spokesperson tells Fortune. “With this in mind, we have implemented filtering on a range of topics.” The tech giant did not further elaborate to which specific topics the filtering applied. '

'Once I answer you’d take a screengrab,” read one answer to a question that contained the words “topple the Communist Party.”Even the mention of Donald Trump, the American President-elect, drew an evasive response from the chat bot, according to reports. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Xiaoice said, reports CNN Money. '

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