Stanford Radio

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: Pamela Chen: How meme culture and algorithms are reshaping photography A former senior photo editor for National Geographic and creative director at Instagram, and now HAI-JSK Fellow at Stanford, discusses the changing face of photography in the age of algorithmic personalization. With a degree in photography with a concentration in mathematics and boasting high-profile jobs at two of the most influential visual outlets in the last century, National Geographic and Instagram, Pamela Chen knows a bit about the state of modern photography and the algorithms that shape popular tastes. Now, as the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and John S. Knight Journalism (HAI-JSK) Fellow at Stanford, she studies how artificial intelligence is shaping the role of photography in society: particularly the rise of memes, which she refers to as “packets of culture.” Chen says mathematics is redefining photography as much as artistic vision, altering both consumer tastes and the c