Before everyone started obsessing over ChatGPT, Ray Dalio was already letting machines do the thinking. The Bridgewater Associates founder recently shared on X that artificial intelligence has been quietly powering one of the world's most influential hedge funds for decades, processing complex market information "far more quickly" than humans could manage alone.
This wasn't some sudden pivot to trendy technology. Dalio says he started working with early forms of AI 35-40 years ago, back when the term "machine learning" probably sounded like science fiction to most people. His approach was straightforward: take the decision-making principles he'd developed over years of trading and translate them into equations. Feed those rules into what he calls an "expert system," and suddenly you've got machines analyzing enormous volumes of data while still applying your investment philosophy.
"I could have inspiration and logic and so on. It was a great partnership," Dalio explained. He credits this approach to investment decision-making as the secret behind Bridgewater's success.
Building a Digital Version of Your Brain
The early systems were designed to mirror exactly how Dalio evaluated markets, risks, and probabilities. The idea was elegant: let the algorithms handle the heavy computational lifting while he focused on judgment and strategy. Instead of drowning in data, he could partner with technology that thought like him but operated at machine speed.
That framework eventually became Bridgewater's DNA. Investment decisions got guided by clearly defined principles rather than gut feelings or whatever mood someone was in that morning. The structure helped limit emotional bias, which anyone who's ever panic-sold during a market dip knows is a real problem. It also enabled repeatable processes as the firm scaled, which matters when you're managing billions of dollars.
Over time, Dalio formalized those principles into tools others could actually use. He even built a digital "coach" based on his thinking, allowing colleagues to ask questions and receive guidance rooted in his decision rules. The goal was consistency, speed, and clarity across the entire organization. No more playing telephone with investment philosophy.
From Rule-Based Systems to Something More Fluid
Dalio acknowledges that early AI systems were far more limited than today's tools. They were rigid, rule-based, and couldn't handle much nuance. But they laid the groundwork for what followed. He says recent advances in large language models have made the process "much more seamless and useful" than earlier versions.
The newer models differ fundamentally from those rigid systems. They can absorb nuance and context while still applying structured logic, which is a meaningful upgrade. According to Dalio, this shift has expanded how AI can support decision-making beyond financial markets, including management and broader problem-solving across organizations.
This isn't just Bridgewater's story anymore. The observations reflect wider changes across finance, where firms increasingly rely on AI to support research and analysis. Many asset managers now use machine learning to scan earnings calls, economic releases, and alternative data sources faster than traditional methods allow. What Dalio started experimenting with decades ago has become standard operating procedure across the industry.
The interesting part isn't that Bridgewater used technology. Everyone uses technology. It's that Dalio figured out how to encode his actual thinking into systems that could scale, rather than just building fancy calculators. That distinction probably matters more than the specific algorithms involved.