Book Talk | Sherry Turkle | Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines

Join the Institute for Public Knowledge on Monday, October 5 (5:30-7:00 PM) for an event with Sherry Turkle. She will discuss her new book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines, with Manoush Zomorodi.

Sherry Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT and the founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. A leading expert in humans’ relationship with digital objects, she continues to revolutionize our understanding of the role of technology on psychology and culture. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Alone Together, Reclaiming Conversation, and The Empathy Diaries. Turkle’s most recent book is Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk To Machines (Little Brown, September, 2026)

Manoush Zomorodi is an award-winning journalist, author, and host of NPR’s “TED Radio Hour.” Her “Body Electric” project, a collaboration between NPR and Columbia University Medical Center involving over 20,000 participants, represents one of the largest public health studies of its kind. The data from that study, and a much larger story about what the digital age is doing to our bodies are in her groundbreaking book BODY ELECTRIC: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being (Flatiron; May 5, 2026). A 2025 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center resident, she has established herself as a pioneering voice in examining technology’s impact on our humanity. Her first book, BORED AND BRILLIANT (St.Martin’s Press; 2017) and TED talks about the attention economy (7m+ plays) and the physical effects of our tech use make her a go-to expert for understanding our screen-saturated age. She’s earned two Gracie Awards for “Best Radio Host” (2014, 2018), a Webby Award for “Best Podcast Host” (2020), and recognition as one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business.” Under her leadership, “TED Radio Hour” won the 2023 Ambie Award for Best Knowledge, Science & Tech podcast, while her previous show “Note to Self” was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by the Academy of Podcasters.