It may just be being human. Stephen Dubner interviews A.I. performer Tilly Norwood to find out if we are as replaceable as we fear. (Part two of a two-part series.)
 

• SOURCES:
  • Sean Astin, actor, president of SAG-AFTRA.
  • Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired.
  • Ethan Mollick, associate professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Tilly Norwood, A.I. performer.
  • Eline Van der Velden, founder and C.E.O. of Particle6.
  • Joel Waldfogel, economist at the University of Minnesota.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • “Quiet, My Exoself,” by Kevin Kelly (KK, 2026).
  • “How Large Language Models Are Reshaping the Book Market,” by Imke Reimers and Joel Waldfogel (NBER, 2026).
  • “Intellectual Property and Creative Machines,” by Gaétan De Rassenfosse, Adam B. Jaffe, and Joel Waldfogel (NBER, 2024).
  • Digital Renaissance: What Data and Economics Tell Us About the Future of Popular Culture, by Joel Waldfogel (2018).
  • “The Random Long Tail and the Golden Age of Television,” by Joel Waldfogel (Innovation Policy and the Economy, 2017).
  • “Quality Predictability and the Welfare Benefits From New Products: Evidence From the Digitization of Recorded Music,” by Luis Aguiar and Joel Waldfogel (NBER, 2016).
  • “Copyright Protection, Technological Change, and the Quality of New Products: Evidence from Recorded Music since Napster,” by Joel Waldfogel (NBER, 2011).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • “How to Survive the A.I. Shock,” by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • “Should A.I. Move to Space?,” by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • “Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight?,” by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • “Can A.I. Save Your Life?,” by Freakonomics Radio (2026).

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