Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking a family vacation.

Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse. Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives. 

But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them. 

On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in? 

GUEST:
Chirag Shah, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He’s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society—and What We Can Do About It.  

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking&nbsp;a&nbsp;family vacation.
Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse.&nbsp;Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives.&nbsp;
But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them.&nbsp;
On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us?&nbsp;And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in?&nbsp;
GUEST: <a href="https://ischool.uw.edu/people/faculty/profile/chirags">Chirag Shah</a>, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He&rsquo;s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society&mdash;and What We Can Do About It. &nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It’s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It&rsquo;s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In&nbsp;Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming

What are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in? 

Should you have an AI assistant?

Anyone who’s been to a bar or wedding lately has probably noticed that people just aren’t drinking like they used to. A Gallup poll from last year found alcohol consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time low. 

And that's sobering news for some of Washington’s most important business sectors.

On today's episode, how can Washington’s iconic wine and beer industries adapt to our rapidly changing relationship with alcohol?

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Anyone who&rsquo;s been to a bar or wedding lately has probably noticed that people just aren&rsquo;t drinking like they used to.&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx">A Gallup poll</a> from last year found alcohol consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time low.&nbsp;
And that's sobering news for some of Washington&rsquo;s most important business sectors.
On today's episode, how can Washington&rsquo;s iconic wine and beer industries adapt to our rapidly changing relationship with alcohol?
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

How can Washington’s iconic wine and beer industries adapt to our rapidly changing relationship with alcohol?

A sobering reality for Washington's wine and beer industries

Attendance at the big movie theater chains has been slowly creeping back up since it dropped off a cliff during the pandemic. But a lot of smaller, neighborhood movie theaters are still struggling to survive -- the kind with just a few screens and show a lot of independent or low-budget films. 

On today's episode, what could save small cinemas? Spoiler: It’ll take more than just movies.  

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Attendance at the big movie theater chains has been slowly creeping back up since it dropped off a cliff during the pandemic. But a lot of smaller, neighborhood movie theaters are still struggling to survive -- the kind with just a few screens and show a lot of independent or low-budget films.&nbsp;
On today's episode, what could save small cinemas? Spoiler: It&rsquo;ll take more than just movies.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Some of our most beloved theaters are teetering between keeping their doors open, and closing them forever.

What will it take to save our favorite small cinemas? 

People getting other people to buy stuff is one of the oldest businesses in the world. It's called advertising... or these days, influencing. 

But more and more, the people selling everything from makeup to testosterone supplements aren't even real. They're AI-generated, virtual influencers -- fake human-like characters who post about their lives, just like real people do.

The global business of virtual humans is currently worth around 15 billion dollars. That’s the combined value of what companies are projected to spend on them this year. 

On today's episode, why are fake humans so much better than actual ones at selling us stuff? And what could that mean in the future? 

GUEST:
Joseph Turow, professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communication and author of The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age. 

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

People getting other people to buy stuff is one of the oldest businesses in the world. It's called advertising... or these days, influencing.&nbsp;
But more and more, the people selling everything from makeup to testosterone supplements aren't even real. They're AI-generated, virtual influencers -- fake human-like characters who post about their lives, just like real people do.
The global business of virtual humans is currently worth around 15 billion dollars. That&rsquo;s the combined value of what companies are projected to spend on them this year.&nbsp;
On today's episode, why are fake humans so much better than actual ones at selling us stuff? And what could that mean in the future?&nbsp;
GUEST: <a href="https://www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/joseph-turow-phd">Joseph Turow</a>, professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communication and author of The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age.&nbsp;
Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>.
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

More than half the people using social media are following an AI influencer... often without even knowing it isn’t an actual human.

Should you have an AI assistant?

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