#134 - Sandra Matz: The Intersection of Human Behavior and AIs Psychological Targeting

Episode notes

Sandra Matz is the David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, in New York, where she also serves as the Director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. As a computational social scientist with a background in psychology and computer science, Sandra studies human behavior and preferences using a combination of big data analytics and traditional experimental methods. Her research, and the topic of this podcast, uncovers the hidden relationships between our digital lives and our psychology with the goal of helping businesses and individuals make better and more ethical decisions. We dive into some fascinating insights from her January 2025 book, MINDMASTERS: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior , exploring the concept she coined of “psychological targeting,” a discipline that reveals how our digital footprints expose intimate aspects of our psychology and can be used to shape decisions - from what we buy to how we vote.

• #169 - AI Is Doing the Junior Work. Who Becomes Your Next Senior Leader? | Carrol Chang71 / 100
• #168 - Why Good Companies Go Bad: Eric Ries80 / 100
• #167 - Your Company's Biggest AI Advantage Is Already Sitting in Your Database: Scott Snyder70 / 100
• #166 - Your Business Model Has an Expiry Date: Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva
• #165 - How AI Is Killing Traditional Market Research: Peter Weinberg