Masters in Business At The Money: Fan Favorite - Algorithmic Harm
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Jan 8, 2026 
In this engaging conversation, Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor and co-author of 'Algorithmic Harm', discusses the dual nature of algorithms in our lives. He uses a Star Wars analogy to illustrate how algorithmic harm can exploit our biases. The talk dives into how algorithms influence everything from consumer behavior to democratic processes by creating echo chambers. Sunstein also highlights the need for consumer protections and transparency in algorithmic practices, drawing a line between acceptable pricing strategies and exploitative tactics.
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Algorithms Exploit Ignorance And Bias
- Algorithms can exploit consumers' lack of information or behavioral biases to push harmful products or prices.
- Cass Sunstein frames such exploitative targeting as a core form of "algorithmic harm."
Personalization Can Balkanize Culture
- Personalized recommendations can calcify tastes and produce cultural balkanization over time.
- Sunstein warns this stunts individual taste development and fragments society.
Algorithms Create Separate Realities
- Algorithms and large language models can create separate informational realities for different groups of people.
- That fragmentation undermines mutual understanding and collective problem solving in democracy.
