Q2 - Power, Law, and Civic Life: When Algorithms Govern Your Life with Ramesh Srinivasan, PhD, MS

Paths of Curiosity in an AI WorldEvery time you open TikTok or YouTube, a system you didn't choose has already decided what you're going to believe today.And the people who built it? They're not thinking about you.In this episode, we continue our AI, Power, Law, and Civic Life miniseries with Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan, Professor at UCLA and founder of the Digital Cultures Lab, whose research on algorithms, power, and democracy has taken him to nearly 80 countries and into conversations with the White House, the European Union, and governments across four continents.Together, we explore:Why no algorithm is neutral — and what it actually means when a platform claims to just show you "what you like"How the same platform can present two students sitting next to each other with completely different versions of realityWhat people in Afghanistan, Egypt, and rural India told him they actually want from technology — and why Silicon Valley isn't listeningThe bait and switch at the heart of the data economy: why these platforms would be worth nothing without your data, and why you've never been paid a cent for itHow algorithmic fragmentation is fueling nativism and authoritarianism across the globeWhat transparency, accountability, and democratic governance of AI would actually look like — and why social media proves what happens when we skip that stepDr. Srinivasan also shares his own non-linear path from college radio DJ to Stanford engineer to globally recognized scholar and activist, and why the most important thing he ever learned was to stay true to who he is as a human being first.This conversation will change how you think about every feed, every recommendation, and every platform that claims to know you.Because in a world where algorithms decide what's real, the question isn't just what you're being shown — it's who decided you should see it, and why.Paths of Curiosity in an AI World Exploring tomorrow's careers through the lens of AIPaths of Curiosity in an AI World Exploring tomorrow’s careers through the lens of AI Follow us: @pathsofcuriosityWebsite: https://pathsofcuriosity.com/Youtube: youtube.com/@PathsofCuriosityX: https://x.com/PathsCuriosityLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paths-of-curiosity-in-an-ai-world-2117803aa/