Dr. Robert Epstein testified on July 16 before Congress on the
dangerous control Google exerts over searches, surveillance, and behavioral
manipulation. The full PDF text is here (h/t Pamela Geller). He explains what
Google does, how it does it, discloses Google’s and his methodologies, and
proposes a solution. It is pretty frightening, and I am bookmarking it in wild
anticipation of Congressional action ASAP – so the 2020 election is not utterly
corrupted. Here’s an opening extract:
I am here today for three reasons: to
explain why Google presents a serious threat to democracy and human autonomy,
to explain how passive monitoring systems can protect us both now and in the
future from companies like Google, and to tell you how Congress can immediately
end Google’s worldwide monopoly on search. My plan for ending that monopoly was published just yesterday (Monday, July 15, 2019) by Bloomberg
Businessweek (Epstein, 2019d). I am attaching a copy of my article to my
testimony and respectfully request that it be entered into the Congressional
Record.
I have been a research psychologist
for nearly 40 years and have also served in various editorial positions at Psychology Today magazine and Scientific American MIND. I received my
Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1981 and have since published 15 books and more
than 300 scientific and mainstream articles on artificial intelligence and
other topics. Since 2012, some of my research and writings have focused on
Google LLC, specifically on the company’s power to suppress content – the censorship problem, if you will – as
well as on the massive surveillance the company conducts, and also on the company’s
unprecedented ability to manipulate the thoughts and behavior of more than 2.5 billion
people worldwide. Data I’ve collected since 2016 show that Google displays content
to the American public that is biased in favor on one political party (Epstein
& Williams, 2019), a party I happen to like, but that’s irrelevant. No
private company should have either the right or the power to manipulate large
populations without their knowledge. . . .
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