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Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder, Sonic AI
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Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder
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May 11, 2026
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54:48
Interview
Joanna Stern is not a robot, but she lived with them | Decoder
From
Decoder
Joanna Stern
(Founder, New Things & former columnist, The Wall Street Journal, guest)
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Executive Summary
Veteran tech journalist Joanna Stern discusses leaving The Wall Street Journal to launch her own media company, New Things, and the insights from her new book, "I Am Not a Robot." The conversation provides a critical assessment of the current state of consumer AI, highlighting the immaturity of chatbot interfaces and the significant gap between hype and reality for humanoid robots.
A key focus is the immense challenge of collecting training data for robots to operate in unstructured environments like homes, leading to novel data-gathering methods like remote human operators and a new gig economy.
The discussion also explores the evolving media landscape, contrasting the stability of traditional media with the algorithmic pressures and monetization challenges of creator-led ventures on platforms like YouTube.
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Processed May 11, 2026
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