Artificial intelligence has moved from a niche technical field to a force shaping how we work, communicate and even participate in democracy. As governments and organisations increasingly rely on automated systems in the name of efficiency and convenience, questions about trust, transparency and public understanding have become impossible to ignore. What does it mean for everyday life when decisions that affect us are mediated by technologies most people (including the people who created them) don’t fully understand?

In this episode, I speak to Dr Susan Oman, Senior Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the University of Sheffield. Susan’s research explores how data and evidence operate in practice, and what this means for policy areas such as well‑being, loneliness, inequality and class. Together we unpack the public’s uneasy relationship with AI, and the democratic implications of experiments like the AI avatar launched by Mark Sewards MP. From dystopian parallels to the realities of digital public engagement, Susan offers a grounded and nuanced perspective on what happens when technology starts to stand in for human judgement and understanding.

Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.