From: jimruttshow8596
Zachary Vorhies, a former Google software engineer, has raised concerns about Google’s “machine learning fairness” project, alleging it is part of a broader strategy to manipulate information and interfere in elections [00:02:01]. He describes this as a “new system” Google is building [00:12:14].
Project Overview and Aims
The “machine learning fairness” project is described as revising Google’s search results, biasing YouTube results, and revising news content [00:12:41]. Its main targets are Google Search, YouTube, and News [00:12:56]. The system takes training data as input and generates rules that are applied to comments, videos, and documents to rank content based on how “fair” it is [00:13:02].
Allegations of Reality Distortion
Vorhies claims that Google is using the term “fairness” to justify distorting reality [00:14:02]. He cites an internal document that defined “algorithmic unfairness” with an example: if a search for CEOs predominantly returned male results, even if this represented objective reality, it could still be classified as algorithmically unfair, requiring “product intervention” [00:13:23]. This suggests Google aims to “change the nature of reality to make a better person” [00:14:10].
”Programmable Units” and User Manipulation
A disturbing aspect of this project, according to Vorhies, is Google’s perceived view of its users. Internal documents allegedly describe users as being “programmed” by the content they interact with [00:14:27]. This perception leads Google to believe it has a moral or business obligation to “program” people to be “better” in ways Google deems appropriate [00:16:39]. Vorhies states that this idea of users as “programmable units” intended to be influenced by Google’s control mechanisms is “out of a sci-fi novel” [00:15:13].
Context of Implementation
Vorhies observed the ramping up of this “crazy” agenda after the 2016 US Presidential election, which Google executives attributed to “fake news” and societal issues like racism [00:10:09], [00:07:01]. This led to the company defining “fake news” and actively censoring what they deemed to be such, even if the content related to factual events [00:10:20]. This alleged behavior directly contradicts Google’s long-held claim of being objective and unbiased in its search results [00:16:51].
The broader impact of algorithms and AI on society is a significant concern. Vorhies highlights that Google’s pervasive presence through services like Chrome, Gmail, and Android phones gives it the “scale necessary to be able to sculpt that information landscape” [00:15:48]. The potential for Google to “turn evil” and control user information is presented as a frightening future [00:15:56].
Related Topics
This topic ties into broader discussions about the potential implications of Google’s control over information and user behavior and claims of Google’s search manipulation and internal blacklists. It also touches on challenges in AI measurement and transparency, and the wider ethics and aesthetics in artificial intelligence as well as regulation and impact of AI on society and economic and social implications of AI.
Zachary Vorhies’s allegations and collected documents, available publicly [00:17:26], serve as a primary source for these claims, encouraging individuals to “decide for yourself” [00:01:19].