Vauhini Vara

Thanks for having us.

Thanks for having us.

Thanks for having us.

So the tech companies that claim that they're bringing us closer together, their algorithms tend to favor what they call more engagement, right? It's like more likes, more shares, more followers. And that isn't necessarily conducive to, for example, like connecting me with my neighbor who I really enjoy talking to in the yard, but who has, you know...

So the tech companies that claim that they're bringing us closer together, their algorithms tend to favor what they call more engagement, right? It's like more likes, more shares, more followers. And that isn't necessarily conducive to, for example, like connecting me with my neighbor who I really enjoy talking to in the yard, but who has, you know...

So the tech companies that claim that they're bringing us closer together, their algorithms tend to favor what they call more engagement, right? It's like more likes, more shares, more followers. And that isn't necessarily conducive to, for example, like connecting me with my neighbor who I really enjoy talking to in the yard, but who has, you know...

25 followers on social media and gets two likes on her posts, right? Like if a social media algorithm is deciding between showing me her post about her garden, which I probably would be genuinely interested in, or the post of some influencer in LA who has millions of followers and gets thousands of likes and shares of her posts, it's going to choose that influencer over my friend.

25 followers on social media and gets two likes on her posts, right? Like if a social media algorithm is deciding between showing me her post about her garden, which I probably would be genuinely interested in, or the post of some influencer in LA who has millions of followers and gets thousands of likes and shares of her posts, it's going to choose that influencer over my friend.

25 followers on social media and gets two likes on her posts, right? Like if a social media algorithm is deciding between showing me her post about her garden, which I probably would be genuinely interested in, or the post of some influencer in LA who has millions of followers and gets thousands of likes and shares of her posts, it's going to choose that influencer over my friend.

So all of a sudden these social media platforms that are supposedly about human connection end up prioritizing kind of the opposite of that.

So all of a sudden these social media platforms that are supposedly about human connection end up prioritizing kind of the opposite of that.

So all of a sudden these social media platforms that are supposedly about human connection end up prioritizing kind of the opposite of that.

Nobody's investing a bunch of money in saying, hey, Brittany, you can go to the bar and meet some people. You can go, like, sit on the stoop of your apartment building and talk to passersby. Like, nobody's throwing billions of billions of dollars into marketing campaigns telling you that that's the case.

Nobody's investing a bunch of money in saying, hey, Brittany, you can go to the bar and meet some people. You can go, like, sit on the stoop of your apartment building and talk to passersby. Like, nobody's throwing billions of billions of dollars into marketing campaigns telling you that that's the case.

Nobody's investing a bunch of money in saying, hey, Brittany, you can go to the bar and meet some people. You can go, like, sit on the stoop of your apartment building and talk to passersby. Like, nobody's throwing billions of billions of dollars into marketing campaigns telling you that that's the case.

All the dollars are going toward telling you, hey, you need a tech solution to be able to help you to do this, right? Yeah.

All the dollars are going toward telling you, hey, you need a tech solution to be able to help you to do this, right? Yeah.

All the dollars are going toward telling you, hey, you need a tech solution to be able to help you to do this, right? Yeah.

Yes. So we all know that problems exist in society. I was watching the Super Bowl ads. I watched just the ads of the Super Bowl. That's the best part. Exactly. And there was this one ad, I don't know if you two saw it, there was this one ad that started out as like this really radical message about public health funding. Yeah. and how it's all broken.

Yes. So we all know that problems exist in society. I was watching the Super Bowl ads. I watched just the ads of the Super Bowl. That's the best part. Exactly. And there was this one ad, I don't know if you two saw it, there was this one ad that started out as like this really radical message about public health funding. Yeah. and how it's all broken.