Former Vice President Kamala Harris used an example involving yellow and pink flowers to describe how social media algorithms repeatedly serve users similar content, telling a radio audience that the technology shapes what people see online.
Harris made the comments during an appearance on “Off Air with Big Boy” after host Big Boy asked her about AI, TikTok, Instagram and how personalized algorithms could affect how Americans consume information ahead of the midterm elections.
“There is a part of this that is about understanding that, you know, if you keep seeing the same thing over and over again, know that you are being targeted,” Harris said. “Because you looked at it the first time, they’re just going to keep sending it to you, which means they’re trying to dumb people down with the assumption that people don’t have any interest beyond what they’ve already seen.”
Harris, who previously led much of the Biden administration’s work on artificial intelligence policy, elaborated with the flower comparison.
“The algorithm’s suggesting I have no more interest — because I’m looking at this yellow flower, I’m only interested in yellow flowers, as though my brain can’t handle the fact that there may be a pink flower that I might be interested in looking at,” she said. “Part of it is understanding how the algorithm is manipulating us and figuring out how we’re going to psych it out a bit.”
The remarks drew criticism from Fox News hosts. Sean Hannity reacted to the soundbite by asking, “What was that?” Fox News host Jimmy Failla, appearing as a guest, joked that Harris seemed to think “AI is Allen Iverson from the Philadelphia 76ers.”
Harris, the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, has not said whether she plans to run for president again in 2028. She has previously faced criticism for how she has explained artificial intelligence to the public, including a 2023 comment made while she was vice president: “AI is kind of a fancy thing. First of all, it’s two letters. It means artificial intelligence, but ultimately what it is is it’s about machine learning.”
The latest comments follow Harris’s call earlier this month for President Donald Trump to pursue an international agreement, including with China, to limit dangerous uses of AI and establish global testing standards.
