Google added that part of the problem it faces in generating AI insights is that for some very specific queries there is an absence of high-quality information on the web. – and there is no doubt that Lynn’s work is not of high quality.

“The science behind Lynn’s ‘national IQ’ database is of such poor quality that it is difficult to believe the database is anything other than fraudulent,” Sear said. “Lynn never described her methodology for selecting samples from the database; many countries have IQs estimated from absurdly small and unrepresentative samples.

Sear points out that Lynn’s estimate of Angola’s IQ is based on information from only 19 people and that Eritrea’s is based on samples of children living in orphanages.

“The problem is that the data Lynn used to generate this dataset is just bullshit, and it’s bullshit on multiple dimensions,” said Adam Rutherford, a geneticist and author of several books, including “ How to Argue with a Racist,” pointing out that the Somali figure in Lynn’s dataset is based on a sample of refugees aged 8 to 18 who were tested in a Kenyan refugee camp. It adds that Botswana’s score is based on a unique sample of 104 Setswana-speaking high school students, aged 7 to 20, who were tested in English.

Critics of the use of national IQ tests to promote the idea of ​​racial superiority point out not only that the quality of the samples collected is low, but also that the tests themselves are generally designed for Western audiences and are therefore biased. before being used. even administered.

“There is evidence that Lynn systematically biased the database by preferentially including samples with low IQs, while excluding those with higher IQs, for African countries,” Sears added, a conclusion supported by a study 2020 preliminary.

Lynn has released various versions of his national IQ dataset over the decades, the most recent, titled “The Intelligence of Nations,” was released in 2019. Over the years, Lynn’s imperfect work has been used by far-right and racist organizations. groups as evidence to support claims of white superiority. The data was also transformed into a color-coded world map, showing sub-Saharan African countries with allegedly low IQs colored red compared to Western countries, which are colored blue.

“This is a data visualization you see everywhere [X, formerly known as Twitter]all over social media – and if you spend a lot of time in racist hangouts on the web, you just see this as an argument from racists who say, “Look at the data.” Look at the map,” Rutherford says.

But the fault, Rutherford believes, lies not only with AI systems, but also with a scientific community that has uncritically cited Lynn’s work for years.

“Actually, it’s not surprising [that AI systems are quoting it] because Lynn’s work on IQ has been accepted beyond doubt in a wide academic field, and if you look at the number of times his national IQ databases have been cited in academic work, it is counted by hundreds,” Rutherford said. “The fault therefore does not lie with the AI. The fault lies with the academic world.

Updated: 10/28/2024, 3:31 PM EST: Adam Rutherford is a geneticist and author.