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. ------------ 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: Junior Real Videographer and Audio Engineer: Mike O’Brien, Voicing Change Media Theme Music: Andy Clausen Special Envoy to the Machines: Peter Loforte Life with Machines is a Multiverses Media production Sponsored by Lenovo #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Cortico #Democracy #CivicMuscle #CivicTech #SocialImpact #TechForGood #PublicDiscourse #EthicalAI #DialogueNetworks #CommunityTech #ParticipatoryAI

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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