Yesterday, Google faced a significant drop in its stock price due to revelations about its AI product, Gemini, generating inaccurate images. This incident highlights a compelling business story with three key aspects to explore: the programming of the AI itself, the incentives set for Google’s employees, and the corporate incentives and management.
Firstly, examining the AI, when users requested images of the founding fathers on Gemini, the results consistently portrayed them as black instead of white. This revealed that the AI reflected the biases of its human creators. AI, being generative, creates content not directly crafted by humans, but its programming is influenced by the biases injected into it by its creators. In this case, the biases mirrored the prevalent cultural orthodoxy in Silicon Valley, emphasizing the modern woke ideology that acknowledges and addresses systemic racism.
Secondly, the programming of Google’s employees was influenced by a set of incentives. An example is the case of James deore, who faced backlash and termination for offering an alternative hypothesis about gender disparities in engineering. This sends a clear message to employees: conform to the woke orthodoxy or face severe consequences, hindering open debate crucial for product improvement. Engineers working on Gemini likely knew of its biased nature but were afraid to speak up due to these corporate incentives.
The third layer involves the programming of corporations and their behavior, driven by capital. Companies like Anheuser-Busch and Boeing made decisions that adversely affected their stock prices, linked to social agendas. This behavior is influenced by asset managers and financial institutions like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, managing trillions of dollars. These entities use investments to support policies and agendas that align with certain ideologies, often at the expense of the company’s best interests.
In essence, this chain of influence reveals a cycle where AI reflects human biases, employees conform due to corporate incentives, and corporations align with social agendas driven by financial institutions, ultimately connected to government actors. The recent stock price decline of Google serves as a wake-up call, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing product excellence over social and political agendas. The call to action is to focus on excellence to move Corporate America forward, challenging the prevalent woke orthodoxy and promoting a culture of innovation. The author, having written two books on the topic, founded Strive Asset Management to compete against major financial players, advocating for solutions through cultural and private market actions. The message is clear: to reclaim our country’s direction, a shift towards excellence is imperative.
Adapted Vivek Ramaswamy Video