When the Algorithm Tells Me Who I Am | Yanzhi Xiao | TEDxMCA Youth
TEDx Talks·2026-02-13 16:44

The dilemma that the speaker seeks to solve is a modern one: are our identities determined by algorithms or by ourselves? She shares her anxiety online, and her social media feed is filled with similar content—no coincidence, just reinforcement. She uses Cooley’s “looking glass self” to demonstrate how algorithms have replaced human interaction as a means by which we define ourselves. But they don’t just influence our tastes; they program them. However, her talk does not provide a solution but a means by wh ...