{"id":257790,"date":"2024-03-25T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=257790"},"modified":"2025-01-10T15:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T15:03:16","slug":"meet-the-ai-censored-naked-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2024\/03\/meet-the-ai-censored-naked-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the AI-Censored? Naked Capitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Google provides an early, scary test case for mechanized suppression by threatening a popular economics site with demonetization.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

22 Mar 2024<\/em> – The future of AI-powered censorship is here, and the early returns are as error-filled and clumsily destructive as Google\u2019s infamous Gemini rollout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On March 4th, Yves Smith \u2014 nom de plume for the editor of Naked Capitalism<\/a><\/em>, a popular site containing economics commentary and journalism \u2014 received an ominous letter<\/a> from its ad service company:<\/p>\n

Hope you are doing well!
\nWe noticed that Google has flagged your site for Policy violation and ad serving is restricted on most of the pages with the below strikes\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The letter went on to list four data fields: VIOLENT_EXTREMISM, HATEFUL_CONTENT, HARMFUL_HEALTH_CLAIMS, and ANTI_VACCINATION. From there the firm explained: \u201cIf Google identifies the flags <\/strong>consistently<\/strong><\/em> and if the content is not fixed, then the ads will be disabled completely to serve on the site<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo this is a threat of complete demonetization,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n

She discovered a spreadsheet listing her offenses. Excerpts are reprinted below. The third image is the enhanced view of Google\u2019s explanation for the last two entries:<\/p>\n

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<\/picture>Spreadsheet sent to Naked Capitalism by Google<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Naked Capitalism<\/em> is run by Smith, a Harvard Business School graduate and longtime financial services sector expert. The site often tackles issues the financial press avoids and gained renown in the wake of the 2008 crash. (I appeared with Yves on a Moyers and Company <\/a><\/em>show<\/a> about banking years ago.) Naked Capitalism <\/em>helped force the resignation of the SEC\u2019s Director of the Office of Compliance and Inspections, Andrew Bowden when it described Bowden telling a Stanford audience<\/a> containing many private equity executives how his son would like to work in private equity. Later, California Pension Fund chief Ben Meng resigned<\/a> in the wake of the site\u2019s reporting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Naked Capitalism <\/em>is a home for smart, independent commentary about a financial services industry that is otherwise almost exclusively covered by writers and broadcasters who\u2019d jump at a job offer from the companies they cover. It\u2019s unique, useful and full of links and primary source material. What 16 items did Google find objectionable in its archive of 33,000 posts?<\/p>\n