Joanna Stern - Founder, New Things & former columnist, The Wall Street Journal. Tracked across 22 mentions in podcasts and expert conversations analyzed by Sonic.

Joanna Stern

Founder of the media company 'New Things' and former technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

Humanoid robots are not ready for widespread use in the near future, contrary to industry hype, primarily due to a lack of real-world training data.

The most practical and valuable applications of AI today are as assistive tools integrated into existing professional and enterprise workflows, rather than as standalone consumer products.

The business model for modern media companies must be diversified with subscriptions, sponsorships, and events to be sustainable, as direct revenue from video platforms is insufficient.

A new gig economy is emerging to solve the AI data bottleneck, where humans are paid to perform and record tasks to train robots, or even operate them remotely.

The user interfaces for major consumer chatbots have stagnated, and their true utility is unlocked when they are integrated as agents into platforms like Slack or in-car systems.

Timeline

Past

Worked at The Wall Street Journal, where she observed the video audience on platforms like YouTube was shrinking.

Recent Past

Left The Wall Street Journal to launch her own media company, 'New Things'.

Present

Is building 'New Things' with a diversified business model that includes a $550/year 'Founders Club' membership, sponsorships, and events to mitigate low direct revenue from video platforms.

Present

Actively comments on the state of technology, expressing strong, data-grounded skepticism about the near-term viability of humanoid robots and physical AI.

Present

Integrates AI into her own business operations, using a custom-trained AI agent within Slack for operational tasks.

Podcast consensus on Stern

Points of consensus

▶Joanna Stern consistently argues that physical, humanoid robots are very far from being ready for widespread consumer use, directly contradicting industry hype.May 2026

▶A primary obstacle for advanced robotics, particularly in unstructured home environments, is the significant lack of real-world training data.May 2026

▶Stern's career move from The Wall Street Journal to founding 'New Things' reflects a belief that new media ventures require diversified revenue streams (subscriptions, events, sponsorships) to compensate for low direct revenue from platforms like YouTube.May 2026

▶AI is currently most effective as an assistive tool integrated into existing professional workflows, such as radiologists using it to read scans or businesses using custom agents in Slack.May 2026

Points of debate

▶While Stern is highly skeptical about the near-term viability of physical robots, she is optimistic that a 'killer app' for wearable AI will emerge soon, suggesting a divergence in her outlook based on the form factor of AI.May 2026

▶Stern criticizes the user interfaces of major consumer chatbots like ChatGPT for not improving significantly, yet she also highlights the practical success of a custom-trained AI agent integrated directly into her company's Slack workflow, suggesting integration is more important than the standalone interface.May 2026

▶She notes that the video audience for a legacy media institution like The Wall Street Journal was shrinking, prompting her departure, yet her new venture's business model must also be designed to overcome the low direct revenue from the same video platforms.May 2026

▶Stern points to the high cost and poor performance of current consumer robots, like laundry folders, as evidence of their immaturity, but also observes an emerging gig economy dedicated to generating the very training data that could accelerate their development.May 2026

Key themes

▶Pragmatic Skepticism of Physical AIMay 2026

Stern consistently expresses skepticism about the readiness of physical AI and humanoid robots for widespread use, particularly within the next two years. She argues that major obstacles, such as the lack of training data for unstructured environments and the poor performance of current consumer robots, are being downplayed by industry leaders.

Investors should be cautious of the hype cycle surrounding humanoid robotics and instead focus on companies solving the fundamental bottleneck of acquiring and labeling real-world training data.

▶The New Media Business ModelMay 2026

Having left The Wall Street Journal due in part to a shrinking video audience, Stern is building her new media company, New Things, on a diversified revenue model. This model relies on high-value subscriptions, sponsorships, and events rather than depending solely on platform-based ad revenue.

This reflects a broader trend of individual creators and journalists building direct-to-audience businesses, suggesting that investment opportunities are shifting from legacy media platforms to the creator economy's infrastructure and direct-monetization tools.

▶AI as an Augmentative Tool, Not a ReplacementMay 2026

Stern's analysis suggests AI's most practical current applications are as assistive tools that enhance existing workflows. Examples include radiologists using AI to analyze scans, car companies integrating third-party AI assistants, and her own company using a custom AI in Slack for operational tasks.

The most immediate and defensible commercial value in AI may not be in revolutionary consumer products but in B2B solutions that integrate into and improve established professional and enterprise processes.

▶The Hidden Human Labor Powering AIMay 2026

Stern highlights that the development of advanced robotics is creating new forms of human labor. This includes a new gig economy where people are paid to generate training data by recording chores, and remote workers operating robots in users' homes via VR to collect data.

The growth of the AI industry is creating a parallel, often invisible, labor market focused on data generation, which presents ethical considerations and investment opportunities in data-as-a-service and remote operation platform companies.

Source episodes

Suggested prompts

How does Joanna Stern's skepticism about physical AI contrast with her apparent optimism for wearable AI and integrated software agents? &nearr;What are the key risks and opportunities in the diversified, direct-to-audience media business model Stern is pursuing with 'New Things'? &nearr;Based on Stern's analysis, what are the primary bottlenecks preventing AI from evolving from digital assistance to widespread physical task completion? &nearr;How does the emergence of a 'data gig economy' for AI training, as described by Stern, impact the future of labor, automation, and data privacy? &nearr;

Key concepts

Humanoid Robots 1 ep AI Training Data 1 ep Media Business Models 1 ep AI Assistants & Chatbots 1 ep Wearable AI 1 ep Consumer Robotics 1 ep Gig Economy 1 ep Automotive Technology 2 ep

Notable quotes

“this idea that the robots and physical AI is coming in the next two years is just a lie.”

Joanna Stern · Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder

“Jensen, everyone is claiming that this is the next thing. It is so far from ready. It is absolutely so far from ready.”

Joanna Stern · Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder

“the fact that these robots don't have enough data of doing real world things, especially in the home”

Joanna Stern · Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder

“it's a human operating a vr headset back in their headquarters in palo alto your robot in your home is being operated by that person, it's collecting data.”

Joanna Stern · Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder

Report last updated: Jul 28, 2026

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