What's Your Spark? | Paths of Curiosity in an AI World

Six people work at very different intersections of AI, money, and power. A decision scientist, a political economist of technology, a technology-and-society researcher, a financial policy economist, a behavioral scientist, and a sociotechnical investigator.

This short quiz will help you figure out which of their paths might spark something in you — and what concrete next step makes sense for where you are right now.

Question 1 of 5

What gets under your skin most?

Misplaced distrust. When people dismiss a genuinely good tool the moment it makes one visible mistake. Hidden control. When technology is sold as world-saving while quietly locking people into systems they never agreed to. The gap between lab and life. When a "life-changing" project works beautifully in a controlled setting and falls apart in the real world. Quiet unfairness. When a system built to serve everyone ends up working best for people who already have money and connections. Invisible steering. When someone assumes people would "just do the right thing" if they wanted to, ignoring how choices are designed. Deliberate friction. When a company builds a maze of forms and fine print specifically to stop you from doing something you're entitled to do.

Question 2 of 5

How do you like to spend your time?

Designing simple experiments. Figuring out why people make the choices they make. Reading and writing about power. Who owns technology, who profits from it, who it controls. Seeing how things actually get used. Traveling or observing how a technology plays out in a real community. Untangling a rule. Digging into how a number or policy actually got decided, and who it favors. Testing small tweaks. Trying tiny changes to see what actually shifts people's behavior. Following the paper trail. Chasing forms, fine print, and records until you find the real story.

Question 3 of 5

Which sentence sounds most like you?

"I trust data — but I want to know exactly where it breaks down." "I want to know who profits, and who pays." "I care more about the impact on real people than the elegance of the tech." "I like untangling systems that seem confusing on purpose." "I'm curious about the tiny design choices that quietly steer people." "I don't believe a company's story until I've checked it myself."

Question 4 of 5

If you had to pick one skill to build first, it'd be...

Statistics & judgment under uncertainty. Understanding how people misjudge risk and randomness. Critical theory. Studying how technology relates to society, ethics, and power. Fieldwork. Going out, observing, and listening before you conclude anything. Financial literacy. Learning how regulations and institutions like credit systems actually function. Research design. Learning how to build and run real behavioral field experiments. Investigative reporting. Public records, interviews, and following evidence wherever it leads.

Question 5 of 5

What feels like your most urgent next step?

Read the research. Pick up a couple of academic papers on decision-making, even if they feel dense at first. Read one book on tech and power. Something connecting technology, capitalism, and who really benefits. Ask a real user. Talk to someone who relies on a piece of everyday tech and ask what it's really like for them. Check your own data. Learn how your credit or financial information is actually being used right now. Name a nudge. Notice one design choice already shaping your decisions today, and say it out loud. Request your own records. Practice asking a company or platform what data it actually has on you.