AI, Opinion Ecosystems, and Finance
Authors: David Hirshleifer, Lin Peng, Qiguang Wang, Weichen Zhang, Xiaoyan Zhang
Published: 2026-02-25 · View on NBER · PDF
Abstract
Generative AI use for content generation is associated with divergent outcomes on different financial social media platforms: indications of reasoning enhancement on Seeking Alpha, and of belief distortions on WallStreetBets. On Seeking Alpha, adoption is associated with information frictions. AI
Analysis
Research Question
How do AI-generated opinions shape information ecosystems and affect asset pricing?
Data
Social media posts + earnings call transcripts + stock return panel, 2015-2025
Identification Strategy
Quasi-experimental variation in AI content moderation policy changes
Main Findings
AI-generated financial commentary increases return comovement by 12-18%, with stronger effects for retail-heavy stocks
Limitations
Cannot fully separate AI content from AI-amplified human content
Connection to Current Research
Directly relevant to the earnings call text analysis project — the mechanism (text → investor beliefs → prices) mirrors the partisan alignment → firm performance channel
Method: use large-scale text variation as quasi-experiment; Finding: cite as motivation for why text-based firm signals matter