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.