Former WSJ Reporter Joanna Stern handed her life to AI for 365 days

June 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

When a Tech Reviewer Let AI Run Her Life for a Year

Joanna Stern, the former Wall Street Journal tech columnist, spent 365 days letting artificial intelligence infiltrate nearly every corner of her existence—parenting, healthcare, transportation, work, and home. She then wrote a book called I Am Not a Robot about what she learned. The experience left her neither a true believer nor a skeptic, but something more useful: someone who has seen where AI genuinely helps, where it's laughably bad, and where the real danger isn't the technology itself but how easily we trust it.

What AI Actually Did Well

The most lasting impression from Stern's year came from an unexpected place: healthcare. She had her mammogram and ultrasound read by AI, and the experience changed how she thinks about medical technology. The radiologists she spoke with weren't worried about losing their jobs—they described working with the AI as genuinely helpful. Stern now says she will always choose a facility that uses AI for those readings. The lesson is that the most successful AI applications are invisible ones, where the technology assists experts rather than replacing them.

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What you'll learn

1 (03:01) **AI's Best Surprise: Healthcare** - Joanna explains that AI reading her mammogram was the most lasting positive experience from the year; she will now always seek out facilities with AI-assisted radiology.
2 (04:54) **Where AI Fell Short: Humanoid Robots** - Joanna discusses why humanoid robots are "hilarious" and "so far away" from being useful in the home.
3 (08:04) **The Waymo Verdict: Magical but Flawed** - Joanna shares her mixed feelings after a week of exclusive Waymo use in Phoenix.
4 (10:43) **The AI Device She Was Happy to Ditch** - Joanna reflects on the "B" bracelet, an always-listening AI wearable that records and summarizes conversations.
5 (12:52) **How Much of the AI Revolution is Just Branding?** - Joanna clarifies that much of the year's tech was genuinely new, not just rebranded old tech.
6 (14:41) **The Parenting Problem: Kids vs. the Oracle** - Joanna worries about her kids using AI as an "infinite knowledge box" instead of asking her questions.
7 (18:58) **Fixing AI's PR Problem (If She Were CMO)** - Joanna argues AI's bad image is due to "slop" (Sora videos) and the threat to creative jobs.

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Guests on this episode

Joanna Stern

Show Notes

#871: Former WSJ tech columnist Joanna Stern spent a year using AI for almost everything. She had her mammogram read by an algorithm, wore a bracelet that recorded every conversation, rode in a Waymo, and let ChatGPT help her decide whether to leave the Wall Street Journal. This year-long experiment is captured in her new book, “I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything,” which reflects on what AI actually does well, what it absolutely does not, and why humanoid robots are so dang funny.

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