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? 