Bocconi University's Gaia Rubera is an expert on how big data, AI, and social media influence our opinions and the way we think. But how are they used to hack democracy? That is, can how we think and what we think be influenced without our knowing? It's a question that's been on the mind of Gaia Rubera, head of the Department of Marketing and Amplifon Chair in Customer Science at Bocconi University, for a while, and one that's become increasingly important in recent years. For Gaia, the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and social media to interfere in elections and drive the spread of misinformation has worsened over the last several years and poses a serious threat to society.

It's hard to think of a world without smart home assistant devices such as Amazon's Alexa, ridesharing apps like Uber, fitness trackers, personalized music playlists or even mobile banking. While some of these innovations have only been with us for less than a decade, they're now thoroughly woven into the fabric of modern society. None of them would have been possible without advances in artificial intelligence and data science. Even sustainable fashion and medical research are using these technology tools to their advantage nowadays. What are the risks involved?