Show Notes
What do homemade smoke bombs have to do with fixing democracy? In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde Thurston sits down with Deb Roy—MIT professor, former Twitter scientist, and co-founder of Cortico—to map a bold, AI-powered path toward civic renewal. Roy makes the case that we don’t need less tech—we need better tech, designed to build trust, not break it. From town halls that actually work to high schoolers unlocking real change (and yes, bathroom doors), this episode reimagines how tech can help us hear each other—and solve local challenges. Plus, BLAIR, our AI co-producer, joins the fray for a Canadian coffee throwdown you won’t see coming. It’s Tim Hortons vs Starbucks. Watch now to meet the man behind the movement to transform division into dialogue that helps democracy.
------------
THANKS TO OUR BRAND PARTNER
The series is powered by Lenovo
------------
CONNECT WITH US
Get our newsletter for deeper insights, chances to influence the show, and more experiments and calls to action!
Follow us!
Send Questions, Comments, or Ideas: [email protected]
For partnerships, speaking engagements, and other opportunities to work together: [email protected]
------------
Created and Executive Produced by: Elizabeth Stewart and Baratunde Thurston
Executive Producer and Showrunner: Alie Kilts
Senior Producer and Writer: Alex Stone
Associate Producer: Layne Deyling Cherland
Video Editor: Junior Real
Videographer and Audio Engineer: Mike O’Brien, Voicing Change Media
Theme Music: Andy Clausen
Special Envoy to the Machines: Peter Loforte
Life with Machines is a Multiverses Media production
Sponsored by Lenovo
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Cortico #Democracy #CivicMuscle #CivicTech #SocialImpact #TechForGood #PublicDiscourse #EthicalAI #DialogueNetworks #CommunityTech #ParticipatoryAI
More from Life with Machines
Eighteen months ago, WattTime and Climate TRACE co-founder Gavin McCormick told us we're going to beat climate change. Full stop. And that made us so uncomfortable, our team couldn't stop talking about it! Now he's back to answer the question once again: ARE WE DOOMED???
Back in November 2025, I was at AfroTech reconnecting with Will Lucas of Black Tech Green Money. Our conversation had that cookout, Juneteenth “get free” energy. Jidenna had just performed and Stacey Abrams was up next. And we asked the question: do we just survive this AI transition, or do we choose how to live and change the rules of the game? And who gets to decide what happens next?
A few months ago, Dan Blumberg — host of Future Around and Find Out, Webby winner for Best Technology Podcast — brought me in and let me get spicy. The question we kept circling: who actually gets to decide what this technology does to us, for us and with us?
We throw around the phrase "digital native" like a compliment, but Big Tech uses it as a free pass to force-feed youth their latest experiments. They market convenience while masking the true human toll: young minds navigating rampant algorithmic fallout, all built on the backs of underpaid, invisible ghost labor. The individuals who will actually have to live inside this AI-driven future are the same people being blocked from the boardrooms designing it.
What happens when Silicon Valley's AI boom collides with rural America and Indigenous communities? Big Tech is pouring hundreds of billions into data centers, eyeing reopened nuclear plants like Three Mile Island, and pushing for expanded uranium mining on Native lands to feed the machine. The communities bearing the physical cost of AI are the same ones being left out of the conversation about how it gets built.