Sherrell Dorsey

Language is this organic, fluid thing, constantly shifting and growing alongside humanity.

And in the 21st century, our language might now be shaped by the spaces we're using it in, namely the internet.

Think about it.

What if the very way we communicate, the words we choose, and the nuances of our slang are being influenced subtly but significantly by the algorithms that power our favorite social media platforms?

It's a curious thought, isn't it?

That a word might exist not just because a community coined it, but because a digital system favored it, amplified it, and pushed it into our collective consciousness.

This is TED Tech, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective.

I'm your host, Sherelle Dorsey.

Our next speaker is a linguist who has had a front row seat to this evolution.

Adam Aleksik has watched firsthand how the digital currents are shaping the very fabric of our communication.

Now he's here to share how words like unalive or riz go from niche slang to mainstream phenomena and the surprising, sometimes uncomfortable, implications of this algorithmic influence.

Adam's talk is a reexamination of our own online habits, not to mention our relationship to our rapidly changing lexicon.

And now, Adam Aleksik takes the TEDx stage.