In this episode of Big World, SIS alumnus and tech accountability advocate Zamaan Qureshi joins us to discuss the impact of AI and social media on teen mental health, the push for stronger regulation, and how U.S. tech policy compares to other countries.

Qureshi shares what drew him into tech advocacy (2:47) and how he came to co-found Design It For Us—a youth-led grassroots coalition pushing for safer online spaces (4:35). He breaks down the specific harms young people are experiencing from social media and explains how platform design features like infinite scroll, like counts, and beauty filters feed into this and are deliberately built to maximize time spent on these products (8:11).

What does taking on Big Tech look like in practice (11:12)? What can the United States learn from international approaches like the UK's Age Appropriate Design Code or Australia's social media ban for users under 16 (15:08)? What risks does the rapid mainstreaming of AI chatbots like ChatGPT pose to young people (22:53)? And what does the recent landmark jury verdict against Meta and YouTube mean for the future of the tech accountability movement (27:20)? Qureshi answers these questions, and more.

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Big World is a production of the School of International Service at American University.

Episode Credits

Host: Madi Minges

Producer: Morgan Desfosses

Art: Amy Zawada

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