A refreshingly relatable exploration of how algorithms penetrate the most intimate aspects of our psychology, and how we can regain mastery over our lives - from the pioneering expert of psychological targeting.
Mindmasters
By Dr. Sandra Matz
Award-winning Computational Social Scientist at Columbia University
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About Mindmasters
There are more digital pieces of data than stars in the universe. This data helps us monitor our planet, decipher our genetic code, and take a deep dive into our psychology.
As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing our minds, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it – enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate.
In Mindmasters, Columbia professor Sandra Matz offers a fascinating insider perspective on the art and data-driven science of psychological targeting. Filled with Ted-Talk-like explanations and real-life examples from Matz’s research and consulting work, Mindmasters reveals how Big Data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyche and how these insights empower external influence over the choices we make.
Some say this technological trend is no big deal. Others consider it one of the greatest threats to humanity. But what if the truth is more nuanced and mind-bending than that? With passion and clear-eyed precision, Matz discusses how psychological targeting can be creepy, manipulative and downright harmful—with scandals like Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg—but also holds enormous potential to help us live healthier and happier lives.
Turning psychological targeting into a catalyst for social good will require redesigning the data game. Mindmasters shows us how.
Mindmasters is a riveting look at what our digital footprints reveal about us, how they’re being used—for good and for ill—and how we can redesign the data game to gain more control and power over the data that define us.
About the Author
Sandra Matz was born and raised in a small village in the Southwest corner of Germany. After receiving her B.Sc. of Psychology at the University of Freiburg and her PhD from the University of Cambridge, she joined Columbia Business School in 2017 as a Professor of Business at the age of 27.
As a computational social scientist with a background in psychology and computer science, Dr. Matz studies human behavior by uncovering the hidden relationships between our digital lives and our psychology. Her goal is to make data relatable, and help individuals and businesses make better and more ethical decisions.
Over the last 10 years, she has published over 50 academic papers in the world’s leading peer review journals, and her work has been frequently covered by many of the major news outlets, including The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or Business Insider. In addition, Dr. Matz has shared her findings with business leaders, policy makers and the broader public through OpEds, keynote speeches, podcasts, TV appearances and consulting work.
Dr. Matz has won numerous awards for her research and teaching, including the SAGE early career award for social and personality psychologists, Poets and Quants 40 under 40 best business school professors, Capital Young Elite 40 under 40, World Frontiers Forum Young Pioneer, Pacific Standard Magazine’s 30 under 30 Top Thinkers, and DataIQ’s 100 Most Influential Data Marketers.
She lives in New York with her husband Moran Cerf and her son Ben Cerf.
