What happens when tools designed to support our kids end up policing, whitening, and gaslighting them instead? In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with Dr. Avriel Epps—a researcher, artist, and activist—whose work on algorithmic bias and youth development reveals the hidden harms of AI in everyday life. From selfie filters that lighten skin, to predictive policing and AI plagiarism detectors that quietly reinforce systemic injustice, Avriel shows how even well-intentioned tech can strip kids of their agency and sense of self. She also reveals why she wrote the first-ever children’s book about AI bias, how Black youth have developed a natural fluency in spotting disinformation, and what a data strike against Big Tech might actually look like. Plus, BLAIR—our AI co-producer—tries to decode Gen Alpha slang… and gets hilariously roasted. Watch now for a radically hopeful, often hilarious, and deeply personal conversation about power, parenting, and the algorithms reshaping childhood.

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Created and Executive Produced by: Elizabeth Stewart and Baratunde Thurston

Executive Producer and Showrunner: Alie Kilts

Senior Producer and Writer: Alex Stone

Associate Producer: Layne Deyling Cherland

Video Editor: Erik Shute

Videographer and Audio Engineer: Erik Shute

Theme Music: Andy Clausen

Special Envoy to the Machines: Peter Loforte 

Life with Machines is a Multiverses Media production

Sponsored by Lenovo 

#AI #AlgorithmicBias #DigitalJustice #AvrielEpps #AIandYouth #TechEquity #DataPrivacy #AIForGood #EthicalAI #BiasInAI #SurveillanceTech #PredictivePolicing #DigitalLiteracy #DataStrike #FutureOfTech