Futurist · Speaker · Host of Into the Machine
Machine intelligence is changing us. We can still choose how.
Tobias Rose-Stockwell is an award-winning author, researcher and technologist.
Most Useful Book of the YearInc. Magazine
PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith AwardFinalist, 2024
- Spoken at
- Stanford · NYU · Fordham · J.P. Morgan · Facebook · Oslo Freedom Forum · Synapse · Summit Series
- As seen in
- The Atlantic · WIRED · NPR · BBC · CNN · MSNBC
- Featured in
- Your Attention Please, SXSW 2026
The podcast
Into the Machine
A show exploring AI, social media, and the invisible forces dividing us.
#1 fastest-growing podcast in Technology on Substack
The book
Outrage Machine
A book about how the internet has broken our brains, and what we can do to fix it.
- Most Useful Book of the Year, Inc. Magazine
- Finalist, 2024 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award
- Foreword by Jonathan Haidt · Hachette, 2023
“Tobias is a master of intuition and metaphor. This is a vivid and unforgettable book.”
Speaking
Technology and democracy, from the history of the internet to the future of AI.
Keynotes and conversations for companies, universities, schools and civic groups. In person or virtual.
- How to Fix the Outrage MachineKeynote · Reset, reform and reclaim the system pulling us apart.
- Think UnpromptedAI and society · AI’s hidden hazards, and how to stay sane through the disruption.
- Social Media and Children’s Mental HealthFamilies and schools · What the research says, and what parents and schools can do.
“That was an amazing analysis, and very, very powerful takeaways.”
Writing
Essays on attention, AI and democracy.
Advisory
The algorithm already has a story about you. Is it the right one?
Tobias helps organizations build trust online, in an environment that is engineered to erode it.
The truth about your company is competing against a version of itself that is simpler, angrier and more shareable. In a moment of crisis, that version will often win.
Book Tobias
Tell Tobias about your event.
- Talks, conversations, advisory
- book@tobias.cc
- Everything else
- hello@tobias.cc
Writing
Writing
Tobias writes Into the Machine, a newsletter about attention, AI and democracy. He is also the author of Outrage Machine.
Recent essays
Interactive essay
The Noisy Room
A Stanford team analyzed 2.2 billion social media posts. Just 3% of users post severely toxic content. Ask Americans to guess that number, and they say 43%.
The book
Outrage Machine
How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy, and What We Can Do About It. Hachette, 2023.
The original internet was not designed to make us upset, distracted, confused and outraged. But at the turn of the last decade, a handful of small features quietly launched at social media companies. Together, they changed how media, politics and society itself operate.
The book is not just about the problem. In a story spanning continents and generations, Tobias shows how every new media technology disrupts our ability to make sense of the world, from the printing press to the telegraph, from radio to television, and offers a realistic way out.
- Most Useful Book of the Year, Inc. Magazine
- Finalist, 2024 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award
- Foreword by Jonathan Haidt
“Tobias is a master of intuition and metaphor. This is a vivid and unforgettable book.”
“The rigor, research, and depth of Tobias’s book is unparalleled, and yet it is refreshingly accessible. I recommend this book to everyone, not just those interested in technology.”
“With insight and sensitivity, Tobias offers a deep examination of how digital technologies are shaping our perceptions, relationships, and even our sense of personal identity.”
“Outrage Machine is a fascinating deep-dive into the way technology affects our minds and our societies.”
“A masterful appraisal of how social media platforms feed on users’ anger… a superior take on how to tame social media.”
“This book is a true page-turner. It shows how our platforms have inadvertently addicted us to outrage, and how we can sober up.”
“From the printing press to AI, this book is a riveting exploration of how our tools help us make sense of the world… and what’s at stake when they fail.”
Speaking
Speaking
Tobias speaks on technology and democracy, from the history of the internet to the future of artificial intelligence.
Oslo Freedom Forum · Synapse · Summit Series · Morning Joe
The talks
Three talks.
Keynote
How to Fix the Outrage Machine
How social media bound us to a system of public performance that trains us to react rather than reflect, and to attack rather than debate. And what we can do to reset, reform and reclaim it.
For companies, conferences, universities and civic groups · Watch it at the Oslo Freedom Forum ↗AI and society
Think Unprompted
The society-wide effects of artificial intelligence: the hidden hazards inside its rapid progress, and practical ways to navigate the disruption with our sanity intact.
For leadership teams, universities and conferencesFamilies and schools
Social Media and Children’s Mental Health
What we know about social media and mental health, with steps for individuals and parents, and a framework for designing healthier, more human-centered digital products.
For schools, parent groups, libraries and healthcare
- Formats
- Keynote · Fireside conversation · Moderator or host · In person or virtual
- Audiences
- Fortune 500 companies · Universities · Schools · Libraries · Civic organizations · Nonprofits
“That was an amazing analysis, and very, very powerful takeaways.”
“Celebrated technologist, media researcher, and author of Outrage Machine.”
Bring Tobias to your event.
Book TobiasAbout
Tobias Rose-Stockwell
Writer, designer and technologist. Author of Outrage Machine. Host of Into the Machine.
Tobias Rose-Stockwell is a writer, designer and technologist whose work has been featured in The Atlantic, WIRED, NPR, the BBC and on CNN.
He is the author of Outrage Machine, named Inc. Magazine’s most useful book of the year and a PEN/Galbraith Award finalist, which unpacks social media’s influence on news, discourse and democracy. His research has been cited in the adoption of major interventions to reduce toxicity and polarization within tech platforms.
He is the host and creator of Into the Machine, a show examining how machine intelligence is reshaping human decision-making. He appears in the documentary Your Attention Please, which premiered at SXSW in 2026.
He previously led humanitarian projects in Southeast Asia focused on civil-war reconstruction, work for which he was honored with an award from the 14th Dalai Lama. He lives in New York City.
- Book
- Outrage Machine (Hachette, 2023)
- Show
- Into the Machine, on YouTube, Apple, Spotify and Substack
- Film
- Your Attention Please, documentary, SXSW 2026
- Press
- Headshots: light background · dark background
- Contact
- book@tobias.cc for talks and advisory · hello@tobias.cc for everything else
