Should You Automate Your Life?
Joanna Stern's new book, "I Am Not a Robot," chronicles her year-long experiment with integrating artificial intelligence into her daily life. Throughout the experiment, she used over a hundred A.I.-based products, exploring both the benefits and drawbacks of automation. The book serves as a personal reflection on how A.I. can enhance or complicate everyday tasks and relationships.
- ▪Stern used more than a hundred A.I.-based products in her daily life over the course of a year.
- ▪She found that while A.I. can be helpful, it can also lead to self-sabotage and missed personal connections.
- ▪The book highlights the ongoing evolution of A.I. technology and its implications for individual users.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Open QuestionsShould You Automate Your Life?A new book suggests that it’s time to embrace A.I. on your own terms.By Joshua RothmanMay 29, 2026Illustration by Josie NortonSave this storySave this storySave this storySave this storyYou’re reading Open Questions, Joshua Rothman’s weekly column exploring what it means to be human.“I, Joanna Stern, do solemnly swear to live with the machines for the next 365 days.” Thus begins the year-long experiment chronicled in Stern’s book, “I Am Not a Robot,” a romp through the landscape of applied artificial intelligence, published this month. Early in 2025, Stern, a former technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal, decided to “cram artificial intelligence into as many corners” of her life as possible.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The New Yorker.
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