Using technology as a "force for good" with Moonshot CEO & Founder Vidhya Ramalingam

“I’m a big believer that the internet can be a force for good and that there’s a lot of power in the connections that can be formed online.” -- Vidhya Ramalingam

We've talked before about how the internet and social media can spread disinformation and hate-related posts but how can it also be used for good? My guest this week is Vidhya Ramalingam, CEO and Founder of Moonshot, a company that uses technology to identify people at risk of violent extremism. Moonshot repurposes target advertising methods to intervene by connecting those people with humans who can help.

"If it's human connections that are gonna get people out of these movements, then actually facilitating those connections (...) that’s something that we can replicate and we can scale," Ramalingam said.

Her journey to founding Moonshot is pretty unique. She started by attending white nationalist rallies in Sweden and having personal conversations with people involved in the movements. She was surprised by what she learned.