A quick note about Alexa, or Siri or Google Assistant, or any other voice-enabled technology. The algorithms they operate on convert spoken words into a language the device can use to search online databases such as Wikipedia, IMDB, Google and Amazon. The entire process has slowly improved, with each subsequent inquiry and answer helping to refine the process.
A number of extreme partisans have found ways to weaponize these open platforms on the internet, from Facebook, to YouTube, to Twitter. They are not seeking the truth, but rather, trying to sell readers on something — a product, newsletter or political viewpoint. As it turns out, this can be a lucrative business. The danger to investors comes about when weaponized fictions infiltrate our own information diet.
This is inconsistent with Ray Dalio’s philosophy of hyperrealism. The founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund, suggests that all investors must “embrace reality.” Believing things that are objectively false isn’t the way anyone becomes a successful investor.
But what about the so-called left-leaning bias at technology companies? Isn’t this a risk to both society and investors alike? There are several answers to this. The first is that people at tech firms tend to be young, college-educated and live in technology hub cities like San Francisco or Seattle or Boston. Those demographic qualities do tend to lean to the left.
This does not mean, however, that the platforms themselves are biased. Almost 63 million people voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Why would any major mainstream company want to risk alienating that many potential customers? The denizens of Silicon Valley are, above all else, capitalists. If you believe that businesses are mostly out to make as much profit as possible, there’s no way to make a coherent case that they embrace any political beliefs at all. Just the opposite: Most of the time, companies in tech and elsewhere go out of their way to avoid taking political stands.
I know some will argue that the Washington Post, a newspaper whose editorial stand is pretty clearly liberal, reflects the views of its owner, Amazon.com Inc. CEO and founder Jeff Bezos. Maybe it does, though I’ve never heard him express any distinct political views and the newspaper has said he plays no role in its editorial decisions. But political bias at Amazon itself? I suppose it has workplace policies that some might consider liberal, in keeping with a company based in Seattle. But I doubt those policies are that much different from other big employers in the city.
What can investors take away from this? There are facts, and there is what we want to believe regardless of the facts. The latter is the path to surefire investment disaster.
This column was provided by Bloomberg News.