Season 8

  • Trailer: We're Back! IRL Season 8: AI and Us

    Bridget Todd is on a journey to find out how AI affects us on a personal level. From her love life to her city, to the privacy of her memories, Bridget digs deep to uncover the relationship between us and AI. She talks to people who question the status quo, and pour their hearts into shaping AI that will change our lives without invading our privacy. Show Notes

    Published: June 10, 2025
    Bridget Todd is on a journey to find out how AI affects us on a personal level. From her love life to her city, to the privacy of her memories, Bridget digs deep to uncover the relationship between us and AI. She talks to people who question the status quo, and pour their hearts into shaping AI that will change our lives without invading our privacy. Episode transcript

  • 1: We Found Love in an AI Place

    Will my new AI boyfriend be a green flag? Bridget Todd explores how encounters of love and sex are secretly shaped by data and algorithms. Show Notes

    Published: June 17, 2025

    Will my new AI boyfriend be a green flag? Bridget Todd explores how encounters of love and sex are secretly shaped by data and algorithms.

    Love is intimate. It’s private. It’s human. So naturally tech companies see it as a money-maker. Host Bridget Todd uncovers the algorithmic racism and bias built into most popular dating apps, and meets the people who are coming up with better alternatives.

    Apryl Williams interviewed more than 100 dating app users for her book “Not My Type-Automating Sexual Racism in Online Dating” and learned a lot about race-based discrimination in dating algorithms.

    After he was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD early in the pandemic, Jamie Johnston founded Mattr, a dating app where neurodiversity is celebrated and people have a less addictive algorithmic dating experience.

    Jen Caltrider led Mozilla’s Online Product Reviews. She reviewed the privacy policies of dozens of dating apps and love robots and concluded this is an industry of spyware for our most intimate thoughts.

    Episode transcript