Newsletter

Receive regular updates about forthcoming events and other news from Intelligence Squared

Thanks

You have been added to our mailing list and will now be among the first to hear about events.

Live On Stage
Tuesday May 20 2025, 7pm BST

How To Cure Your Algorithm

This event is part of Critical Conversations, a new series on the age of misinformation by Intelligence Squared and Sage & Jester, hosted by Sophia Smith Galer. To see other events in this series, click here.

Where do we draw the line between free speech and dangerous misinformation? Algorithms not only dictate our data feeds but also reinforce our echo chambers, and the stakes have never been higher – both for our individual perspectives and for society at large. 

How To Cure Your Algorithm dives headfirst into the pressing issue of digital manipulation. We’ll expose how unchecked algorithms can distort reality and question the balance between free speech and censorship. More than a debate, it’s a call to action: reclaim your digital narrative. In a series of dynamic sessions, you will receive an unprecedented opportunity to transform the way you interact with digital media, as you get the chance to triage and diagnose the issues in your algorithm before we lead you through some cultural therapies and digital medicinal interventions. We invite you to be at the forefront of this vital conversation – help shape the future of online discourse and empower individuals to take control of their own digital truth.

On May 20, join us live at the Pleasance Theatre with host Sophia Smith Galer and journalist and author Jamie Bartlett for a critical conversation on the age of misinformation and how to take back control.

The event will begin at The Depot Pub next to The Pleasance. Doors open at 6:30pm. The event will start promptly at 7:00pm. If you arrive after 7:45pm you cannot be guaranteed entry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Event Name

How To Cure Your Algorithm


ATTEND IN PERSON

WATCH THE LIVESTREAM


Speaker
  • Jamie Bartlett

    Writer, Podcast Host and Journalist

Host
  • Sophia Smith Galer

    Award-winning Journalist, Writer, and Host of Critical Conversations

Speakers are subject to change.


Location
  • The Pleasance Theatre
  • North Road
  • London
  • N7 9EF
Time
  • Tuesday 20 May 2025
  • 7pm to 8:30pm BST





Speakers

Speaker

Jamie Bartlett

Writer, Podcast Host and Journalist


Writer, journalist and author of several best-selling books about technology and society. This includes The Dark Net, which has been translated into 14 languages and The People Vs Tech. He has written and presented multiple BBC podcast series, including the internationally acclaimed The Missing Cryptoqueen, which exposed a multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency scam.
Host

Sophia Smith Galer

Award-winning Journalist, Writer, and Host of Critical Conversations


Award-winning journalist, writer, speaker, and content creator, credited for pioneering astute, engaging journalism on TikTok. She began her career reporting across the BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World News and building Webby-winning BBC social media channels before joining VICE News as a senior reporter until February 2024.  She produces and presents content on a range of topics including linguicide, innovation and disruption, health and technology, generational communication, gender equality, how to navigate mis-and-dis information, and the state of influencer culture and its ethics. She was the first journalist to report the misuse of political ads on TikTok during the 2020 US election, which was broadcast in her first television documentary The TikTok Election. She was awarded a British Journalism award for 'Innovation of the Year' in 2021, and in 2023 she became a Visiting Fellow for Brown University’s Information Futures Lab where she has developed resources for combating misinformation and misogyny in British schools. In 2024, she was named the winner of the Georgina Henry Award at the Women In Journalism awards for Digital Innovation. As part of the International Center for Journalists’ Disarming Disinformation Solutions Challenge, she developed Sophina, her AI tool that helps experts and journalists write video scripts and amplify their work online.

Speakers are subject to change.