Kevin Simler

i guess they technically have the power to gatekeep, but they mostly refrain from using it (to the point where the term doesn’t seem to fit)

I agree they aren't actively stopping the flow of information except in narrow instances.

I remember Joe Rogan talking about how Google made searches for American inventors different so as to include more women and colored people

challenge. if this is the origin of the anecdote, it’s an artifact of search queries http://www.unz.com/isteve/great-moments-in-google-american-inventors/ …

to be clear, i challenge that google is juking their algorithm with anything like social justice in mind

Ahhh just to be clear too then, you're saying the strange results is a consequence of how people are using Google search?

And that the algorithms are somehow being trained to lean towards one direction versus another?

yes, that would be my speculation (per the UNZ article that I found via Google search ;)