In this episode of Life With Machines, Baratunde sits down with Raj De Datta—entrepreneur, AI thinker, and co-founder of Bloomreach, the platform powering a quarter of US and UK e-commerce. Raj pulls back the curtain on the next wave of online shopping, where homepages, search bars, and endless scrolling are replaced by agents that actually understand you. They talk about the promise of a more human internet, what "personalized" should really mean, and whether we're headed for a future of joyful work—or just better-targeted ads. Raj makes the case for AI that respects privacy, boosts creativity, and yes, even recommends a solar-powered lantern for Baratunde’s next camping trip. Plus, our AI co-producer BLAIR joins the chat to ask the question we’re all thinking: if AI can understand our deepest wants, who protects us from ourselves? ------------ THANKS TO OUR BRAND PARTNER The series is powered by Lenovo CONNECT WITH US Watch this episode on Youtube! Get our newsletter for deeper insights, chances to influence the show, and more experiments and calls to action! ------------ Follow us! Instagram TikTok Threads LinkedIn Work with Life With Machines: [email protected] Send Questions, Comments, or Ideas: [email protected] Write to Blair: [email protected] ------------ Created and Executive Produced by: Elizabeth Stewart and Baratunde Thurston Executive Producer and Showrunner: Alie Kilts Senior Producer and Writer: Alex Stone Associate Producer: Layne Deyling Cherland Video Editor: Erik Shute Videographer and Audio Engineer: Erik Shute Theme Music: Andy Clausen Special Envoy to the Machines: Peter Loforte Life with Machines is a Multiverses Media production Sponsored by Lenovo #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #RajDeDatta #Bloomreach #Ecommerce #OnlineShopping #RetailTech #DigitalCommerce #AgenticAI #ConversationalAI #DigitalSeeker

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