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Technology · Ryan Institute on Complexity at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management

Life, Automated

by Ryan Institute on Complexity at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management

Life, Automated explores how to live, work, and make decisions in a world increasingly shaped by machines. Through thoughtful conversations with researchers, practitioners, artists, and more, we do our best to make sense of how technology is changing—and how it is changing us. We ask: What does the economy look like if AI can do much of what humans can? Will AI tools isolate us further, or steer us back toward community and common ground? Can the average person expect to be better off a decade from now? And what the heck should we tell a sixteen-year-old who wants to know whether learning German (or design, or coding, or the piano) is still worth it? Life, Automated is grounded and non-ideological, going deep without getting too technical. Because you shouldn’t need to be an “AI person” to understand the future we’re collectively building. Host Jess Love is a science writer with a PhD in cognitive psychology and is the Sr. Director for the Ryan Institute on Complexity at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Her writing has appeared in The American Scholar, Discover, Quartz, and more.

Chart trend

Position in the Technology chart (US), last 90 days.

#34
all-time peak
35
days in the top 50 since Jul 2026

Latest episodes

Showing 8 · updated from the feed

AI, Artists, and the Future of Creative Work

Generative AI is able to conjure new images, stories, and songs at lightning speed. So what does this mean for humans artists, storytellers, and musicians? In this specia

Sep 2
50 min

Why AI Might Not Change Education Much at All (with Justin Reich)

“AI will revolutionize education!” “No, it will destroy it!” Well, which is it? If history is any guide, the impact will be limited in either direction. In this episo

Aug 19
42 min

An Optimist’s Take on AI and the Future of Learning (with Sébastien Martin)

As AI tools spread through classrooms, many educators see a “cheating factory.” Kellogg Professor Sébastien Martin sees things differently: as a chance to reinvent how an

Aug 12
34 min

Our Chatbot Friends and Lovers (with Pat Pataranutaporn)

What does a healthy relationship with AI look like? Pat Pataranutaporn, researcher at the MIT Media Lab, explores how chatbots can either support or undermine human flour

Aug 5
41 min

Chatbots Don’t Fool Us, We Fool Ourselves (with Joshua Jay)

When people go to a magic show, they expect to be fooled. That’s part of the fun. And magician Joshua Jay says much of the magician’s work is helping people fool themselv

Jul 29
41 min

Does AI Have to Be Bad News for the Planet? (with Meghan Busse)

Are you hurting the planet every time you query a chatbot? Economist Meghan Busse suggests that may be the wrong question. In this episode, we zoom out from the usual con

Jul 22
36 min

To Thrive Alongside AI, Find the Bottlenecks (with Ben Jones)

Will AI actually take over every job ever? Economist Ben Jones doesn't think so. Drawing from historical evidence around innovation, Jones argues that automation never co

Jul 15
36 min

Coming July 15th! Life, Automated

Life, Automated explores the surreal, exciting, and occasionally terrifying ways AI and automation are reshaping our daily lives.Through thoughtful conversations with res

Jun 23
2 min

Chart positions

Where Life, Automated ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 8, 2026).

#35 ▲ 15 Technology US

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