What if knowing you isn’t the end goal... but shaping you is? In this episode, Kevin Coldiron speaks with Columbia professor Sandra Matz about how algorithms trained on our clicks, searches, and faces don’t just predict our behavior - they influence it. They unpack how personalization narrows possibility, why convenience can come at the cost of resilience, and what happens when machines learn to mirror us better than we mirror each other. From the false promise of data consent to the quiet collapse of complexity, this is a conversation about power, psychology, and the systems quietly remaking the human experience.
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Episode TimeStamps:
02:13 - Introduction to Sandra Matz
08:22 - How data is a window into our psychology
12:13 - What is the "right" benchmark?
14:12 - How algorithms learn to understand who you are
19:11 - Do algorithms care about your feelings?
22:16 - The "basic bitch" effect
25:10 - Computers can learn your personality from a picture of your face
32:01 - How the power of algorithms can be used in a positive way
40:17 - A framework for avoiding the negatives of collecting personal data
44:06 - Solving the complex challenges of cookies (not the ones you eat)
51:14 - The rise of data unions and cooperatives
57:01 - How Matz protects her own data
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