Deprecated Human

Jess Lowry

The Deprecated Human Podcast is a weekly show exploring the growing gap between what the AI industry promises and what people actually experience. Examining how narratives about technological capability are reshaping work, value, and human potential. Each week, the show releases episodes centered on a central theme. Hosted by Jess Lowry, a design strategist with over two decades of experience applying human-centered design across organizations, the podcast brings in diverse voices to explore each topic from multiple perspectives.

  1. 1d ago

    Role Call: A Conversation with Laurie Stark

    What happens when hiring systems are designed to recognize one kind of candidate? After leaving her role as Director of Strategy and Analytics at Kickstarter, Laurie Stark applied to more than 100 jobs. She used AI to polish her cover letters, prepare for interview questions, and tried to package her nonlinear career into something hiring systems could easily categorize. It wasn’t working—and the person she was presenting to employers wasn’t authentic.  So Laurie used her background in strategy, analytics, design, media, and paid acquisition to build Role Call, a subscription job-matching service that searches more than 17,000 company websites for relevant opportunities. Unlike job platforms built around selling services to employers, Role Call works directly for its paying customers: job seekers. The service is now approaching 100 customers. Role Call is a job-matching platform for mid-level and senior knowledge workers in the United States. It scans the websites of over 18,000 companies and matches those jobs to job seekers based on a comprehensive candidate profile that goes beyond job titles and a simple list of skills. When there's a potential match, the seeker is notified, usually within a few hours of the job being posted. Laurie joins Jess to discuss: How hiring systems reward candidates whose careers are easiest to categorizeWhy major job platforms are designed around the needs of employersGhost jobs, misleading posting dates, and the emotional cost of applyingWhy multidisciplinary careers can be difficult to explain but valuable when building something newUsing AI to build a product without surrendering human judgmentThe less glamorous realities of becoming a solopreneurWhy slow, customer-supported growth can be better than venture capitalHow employed workers can preserve their options before a layoff happens This is a conversation about finding work, creating work, and recognizing the value of experience that a machine can’t replicate or understand.  Interested in trying Role Call?  Get 50% off your first month!  Check out: https://rolecall.careers  Use promo code: DEPRECATED Podcast Guest: Laurie Stark Laurie has spent more than 10 years working in tech, including recent stints at Kickstarter and Google. In 2026, she launched Role Call, a job-matching platform, as a solo founder. She lives in Los Angeles with her two cats. Connect with Laurie: Laurie Stark on LinkedIn   Need better job leads? Check out Role Call: https://rolecall.careers Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Socio-technical Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a collective of practitioners that enable organizations to redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and human-centered digital transformation. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people building microbusinesses.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠⁠ Join Jess at ⁠Effective Immediately ⁠ Continue the Investigation Become a member at DeprecatedHumanPodcast.com Deprecated Human investigates how layoffs, AI, hiring technology, and changing workplace systems are redefining expertise, security, and human value. ⁠⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on LinkedIn Each edition connects the personal stories shared on the podcast with the larger forces changing how we work.  Subscribers receive: Research summaries and links to original sourcesKey insights from podcast conversationsEmerging signals affecting work and employmentPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly reports connecting findings from across the investigation This isn’t another hustle-culture newsletter about optimizing yourself for a broken system.

    Role Call: A Conversation with Laurie Stark
  2. Aug 10

    Unknown Future: A Conversation with Allison Ryder

    What happens when you learn that your job is ending before you know what comes next? After nine years as Program Director for Research at MIT Sloan Management Review, Allison Ryder learned that the publication would be winding down—even though its work remains respected, valuable, and successful. With seven months of notice, Allison is navigating an unusual in-between: continuing to do meaningful work, helping her colleagues close an important chapter and searching for her next opportunity at the same time. In this episode, Allison and Jess discuss the illusion of institutional stability, the emotional reality of an unforeseen layoff, and the pressure to project confidence while still processing a loss. They also examine how applicant-tracking systems and AI reward exact titles and keywords, often overlooking multidisciplinary experience and transferable skills. Their conversation explores why professional relationships matter, how networking can help us evaluate opportunities rather than simply pursue referrals, and what it means to separate our identity from the organization that employs us. An unknown future is not necessarily a dangerous future. It is simply a future that has not taken shape yet. Podcast Guest: Allison Ryder  Allison connects people, ideas, and organizations and builds the programs that turn those connections into something real. She’s led AI research programs at MIT Sloan Management Review and produces the popular artificial intelligence podcast Me, Myself, and AI.   She’s now figuring out her next chapter: what kind of work she wants to do, where she can have the most impact, and how to translate a career that has never fit neatly into one box into the next opportunity. Connect with Allison: Allison Ryder on LinkedIn   Website: https://www.unmarketedproducts.com/about Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Socio-technical Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a collective of practitioners that enable organizations to redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and human-centered digital transformation. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people leaving, or thinking about leaving, corporate life to build something of their own.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠⁠ Join Jess at ⁠Effective Immediately ⁠ Continue the Investigation Become a member at DeprecatedHumanPodcast.com Deprecated Human investigates how layoffs, AI, hiring technology, and changing workplace systems are redefining expertise, security, and human value. Membership takes the conversation beyond the podcast. Connect with listeners navigating similar changes, access practical resources, and participate in a community built around mutual support—not professional performance. Your membership also helps keep the podcast independent and the broader investigation going. ⁠⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on LinkedIn Each edition connects the personal stories shared on the podcast with the larger forces changing how we work.  Subscribers receive: Research summaries and links to original sourcesKey insights from podcast conversationsEmerging signals affecting work and employmentPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly reports connecting findings from across the investigation This isn’t another hustle-culture newsletter about optimizing yourself for a broken system. It is an ongoing research project examining how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it.

    Unknown Future: A Conversation with Allison Ryder
  3. Aug 4

    Collective Power: A Conversation with Simone Robutti — Part 2

    What would you say or do differently if you stopped organizing your life around the judgment of a future employer? In Part 2 of Jess’s conversation with former programmer and Tech Workers Coalition organizer Simone Robutti, they examine the fear that keeps many experienced workers silent. Simone calls it “the HR in your head”: the internalized belief that speaking openly, challenging harmful decisions, or expressing your values could make you unemployable. Their conversation moves from credentialism and professional insecurity to offshoring, international labor solidarity, and the role unions can play in shaping how AI enters the workplace. Together, they challenge the idea that worker displacement is an inevitable consequence of technology—and ask what becomes possible when workers recognize how much power they already hold. Episode Resources: https://techworkerscoalition.org  https://architecturesofchange.xyz https://organizing4power.org  https://www.iww.org  https://workerorganizing.org  https://utaw.tech  https://data-workers.org  https://uniglobalunion.org  https://makeamazonpay.com  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain  Socialist cowboys in the Texas ‘Fence Cutting Wars’ https://www.notechforapartheid.com  https://kickstarterunited.org  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Professionals%27_Union  https://www.cwu.org/press_release/google-ai-workers-to-enter-union-recognition-talks/  Podcast Guest: Simone Robutti  Simone worked as a software engineer for several years before quitting the industry and becoming engaged in political and labor organizing full-time. He is an active organizer in Tech Workers Coalition and Cables of Resistance. Professionally, he performs digital investigations against workplace surveillance in Reversing.works, teaches political practices under the name Architectures of Change, and consults democratic workplaces on organization development and process design. He is also part of the artistic collective Reincantamento, writing about techno-magic, political activation, and political mysticism. Connect with Simone Robutti on LinkedIn  Simone’s personal website: https://robutti.me   Reversing Works: https://reversing.works   Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Socio-technical Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a collective of practitioners that enable organizations to redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and human-centered digital transformation. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people leaving, or thinking about leaving, corporate life to build something of their own.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠⁠ Join Jess at ⁠Effective Immediately ⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another hustle culture newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on LinkedIn

    Collective Power: A Conversation with Simone Robutti — Part 2
  4. Aug 4

    Collective Power: A Conversation with Simone Robutti — Part 1

    Tech workers were taught to see themselves as individual innovators—not as workers with shared interests and collective power. In Part 1 of this conversation, Jess speaks with former programmer and Tech Workers Coalition organizer Simone Robutti about why that distinction matters. They explore how layoffs, ethical concerns, and the harmful uses of technology are driving more tech workers to organize. Simone explains what a union actually is, how worker-led organizing differs from treating a union as a service, and why collective action does not have to begin with a formal institution. This episode is about moving beyond individual solutions to systemic problems, and recognizing that workers can have a voice not only in how they are treated, but also in what they are asked to build. Episode Resources: https://techworkerscoalition.org  https://architecturesofchange.xyz https://organizing4power.org  https://www.iww.org  https://workerorganizing.org  https://utaw.tech  https://data-workers.org  https://uniglobalunion.org  https://makeamazonpay.com  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain  Socialist cowboys in the Texas ‘Fence Cutting Wars’ https://www.notechforapartheid.com  https://kickstarterunited.org  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Professionals%27_Union  https://www.cwu.org/press_release/google-ai-workers-to-enter-union-recognition-talks/  Podcast Guest: Simone Robutti  Simone worked as a software engineer for several years before quitting the industry and becoming engaged in political and labor organizing full-time. He is an active organizer in Tech Workers Coalition and Cables of Resistance. Professionally, he performs digital investigations against workplace surveillance in Reversing.works, teaches political practices under the name Architectures of Change, and consults democratic workplaces on organization development and process design. He is also part of the artistic collective Reincantamento, writing about techno-magic, political activation, and political mysticism. Connect with Simone Robutti on LinkedIn  Simone’s website: https://robutti.me   Reversing Works: https://reversing.works   Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Socio-technical Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a collective of practitioners that enable organizations to redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and human-centered digital transformation. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people leaving corporate life to build something of their own.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠⁠ Join Jess at ⁠Effective Immediately ⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another hustle culture newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on LinkedIn

    Collective Power: A Conversation with Simone Robutti — Part 1
  5. Jul 28

    Creative Exit: A Conversation with Pal Moore

    After more than two decades in motion design and advertising, Pal Moore began asking a difficult question: Why keep trying to return to an industry that never made room for all of who he was? In this episode, Pal joins Jess to talk about the challenges of being a multidisciplinary creative in a workplace that rewards narrow specialization, the ageism he encountered after being laid off, and the grief of letting go of a professional identity. They also explore AI’s impact on creative work, what younger generations lose when experienced practitioners disappear, and why knowing a human being is behind a piece of art still matters. Now pursuing addiction counseling, Pal’s creative exit is not an abandonment of his past—it is a move toward work that feels more human, useful, and meaningful. Podcast Guest: Pal Moore Pal Moore is a recovering ad man, lifelong musician, and multidisciplinary creative originally from Jackson, Mississippi, now living in Austin. Over more than two decades in design and advertising, he built a career spanning motion graphics, animation, art direction, and education—creating work for brands including YETI, Whataburger, Brooks, and Costa, while also teaching the next generation of motion designers at Austin Community College. Music remains his greatest creative passion, whether he is writing songs, performing, collecting records, or disappearing into some new corner of musical history. In 2026, Pal began a new chapter, leaving the advertising world to pursue a career in addiction counseling—and rethinking what it means to build a life around work that feels genuinely meaningful. Connect with Pal: ⁠⁠Pal Moore LinkedIn⁠⁠ Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Principal Human Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a consultancy that helps organizations redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and socio-technical systems thinking. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people leaving, or thinking about leaving, corporate life to build something of their own.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠⁠ Join Jess at ⁠Effective Immediately ⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another productivity newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on Beehiiv⁠⁠

    Creative Exit: A Conversation with Pal Moore
  6. Jul 22

    Bad Interview: A Conversation with Jess Lowry

    We've all had interviews we'd rather forget. But sometimes the worst part isn't being rejected—it's beginning to believe the rejection says something about who we are. In this special solo episode, Jess Lowry shares one of the most bizarre interviews of her career and uses it as a starting point to explore the emotional reality of today's hiring process. From power dynamics and performative leadership to AI-generated job descriptions and increasingly automated recruitment, she examines why so many talented people are questioning their own worth in a system that often fails to recognize it. Rather than offering interview tips or career advice, this episode asks a different question: What if the anxiety so many job seekers are experiencing isn't a personal failure—but a perfectly human response to an increasingly disorienting system? Through personal storytelling, emerging research, and reflections on stress, technology, and self-awareness, Jess encourages job seekers to stop blaming themselves, reconnect with their own experience, and remember that uncertainty is data—not proof that you've lost your value. Because before we can navigate what's changing, we need to stop believing that every rejection defines who we are. Resources mentioned in the episode: Lemonade Documentary 16+ years ago, more than 130,000 advertising professionals lost their jobs in this 'Great Recession.' Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives. Sage Creek Studio At Sage Creek Studio, Rachael works with executives, leaders, and professionals who are facing career transitions, leadership challenges, organizational change, or personal crossroads. Her coaching is designed to help clients move beyond overthinking, self-doubt and external pressure so they can identify what truly matters, make aligned decisions and take purposeful action. Clients come to her for clarity, and they leave with greater confidence, a stronger sense of direction and a practical path forward. Download your free What Clarity Feels Like guide: https://sagecreekstudio.hbportal.co/public/6a19de61c09e709e72c51904 Book a no-obligation Introductory Call: https://sagecreekstudio.hbportal.co/schedule/6a19f55c8197f8c2adfcfa86 Website: https://sagecreekstudio.com  Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jessica Lowry is the Founder and Principal Human Systems Designer at ENID Studio, a consultancy that helps organizations redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future through participatory design and socio-technical systems thinking. She is also a member of Effective Immediately, a community for people leaving, or thinking about leaving, corporate life to build something of their own.  Members get honest feedback, business fundamentals, and access to people a few steps ahead while they validate their idea, land first customers, and build the foundation. Connect with Jess: ⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another productivity newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on Beehiiv⁠

    Bad Interview: A Conversation with Jess Lowry
  7. Jul 13

    Getting Unstuck: A Conversation with Rachael DiGiovine

    What happens after the layoff? After nearly two years inside an organization experiencing repeated waves of layoffs, former global HR leader Rachael DiGiovine came to a difficult realization: organizations know how to manage business change, but they often don't know how to support the people living through it. In this episode of Deprecated Human, Rachel shares what she learned from both sides of the employment relationship—the emotional toll of delivering layoffs, the identity crisis that often follows job loss, and why rebuilding confidence has become one of the biggest challenges in today's labor market. In this episode:• The unseen emotional toll of delivering layoffs from the HR perspective• Why prolonged employment insecurity changes how we see ourselves• What organizations often miss when managing workforce reductions• The difference between career coaching and rebuilding identity• Why human connection matters more than ever during times of uncertainty At Sage Creek Studio, Rachael works with executives, leaders, and professionals who are facing career transitions, leadership challenges, organizational change, or personal crossroads. Her coaching is designed to help clients move beyond overthinking, self-doubt and external pressure so they can identify what truly matters, make aligned decisions and take purposeful action. Clients come to her for clarity and leave with greater confidence, a stronger sense of direction, and a practical path forward. Download your free What Clarity Feels Like guide: https://sagecreekstudio.hbportal.co/public/6a19de61c09e709e72c51904 Book a no-obligation Introductory Call: https://sagecreekstudio.hbportal.co/schedule/6a19f55c8197f8c2adfcfa86 Website: https://sagecreekstudio.com  Podcast Guest: Rachael DiGiovine  Rachael DiGiovine is the founder of Sage Creek Studio, a coaching and advisory practice that helps individuals and organizations navigate transition, complexity, and growth with clarity and confidence.  With more than two decades of leadership experience in global human resources, organizational transformation, and change management, she brings a rare combination of executive-level strategy, deep listening, and practical insight to every client conversation. Her background gives her a clear understanding of what it takes to lead through uncertainty and how to turn pivotal moments into meaningful progress. Rachael believes that the most effective next step is the one that aligns with both who you are and where you want to go. Whether she is speaking about leadership, reinvention, decision-making, or the courage required to begin again, her message is consistent: meaningful change starts with reconnecting to what matters most. Through Sage Creek Studio, she helps people gain perspective, build momentum, and create lives and careers that feel both successful and authentic. Connect with Rachael: ⁠Rachael DiGiovine LinkedIn   Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jess leads the overall strategy, service design, and development of Mindful Collective—overseeing everything from organizational structure and partnerships to programming, member experience, and community growth. Connect with Jess: ⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another productivity newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on Beehiiv⁠

    Getting Unstuck: A Conversation with Rachael DiGiovine
  8. Jul 7

    Human Stories: A Conversation with Ross A. McIntyre

    What gives a story its power? In this episode of Deprecated Human, Jess Lowry sits down with strategist and storyteller Ross A. McIntyre to explore why storytelling remains one of our most essential human capabilities in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Ross represents a generation of digital practitioners who helped build the modern technology industry before there were degree programs in product strategy, experience design, or digital transformation. They learned by doing—following curiosity, embracing interdisciplinary thinking, and solving problems that had never existed before. Together, Jess and Ross discuss the changing nature of work, the unintended consequences of AI-driven hiring, the value of generalists, and why stories are more than a communication tool—they're how we make sense of complexity, build trust, and create meaningful human experiences. As organizations race to optimize for efficiency, this conversation asks a different question: What do we lose if we stop recognizing the people whose curiosity, creativity, and humanity made the digital world possible in the first place? Whether you're navigating career transitions, building products, leading teams, or simply wondering what it means to remain human in an algorithmic world, this episode is a reminder that technology may generate content—but it's human stories that give it meaning. Podcast Guest: Ross A. McIntyre Ross A. McIntyre is a strategy and innovation leader with more than 15 years of experience turning ambiguous briefs into products, brands, and platforms that ship, sell, and scale. He has led high-impact initiatives including strategy for a Coca-Cola × Disney campaign that drove 11.9B TikTok views, contributed to a roughly 2% lift in U.S. sales, and an AI platform that saves an energy client approximately $15K per day. Currently building his consultancy, human & co., Ross has held executive strategy roles at Subvrsive, Stellar Elements, Frogslayer, Hypergiant, Fjord, and Huge, where he has guided cross-functional teams, secured tens of millions in new business, and shaped global AI vision and strategy for major brands.  He is known for translating complex problems into clear narratives, experience visions, and go-to-market plans that align executives, win large deals, and accelerate delivery. Before moving into the agency and innovation world, Ross spent nearly two decades in the entertainment industry as a writer, actor, and producer in New York City, a background that underpins his approach to storytelling, audience insight, and creative leadership. He brings that creative rigor to work in AI, emerging technology, and digital transformation, helping organizations imagine what’s next and build it. Connect with Ross: ⁠Ross A. McIntyre LinkedIn  Check out his work: www.rossamcintyre.com Podcast Host: Jess Lowry Jess leads the overall strategy, service design, and development of Mindful Collective—overseeing everything from organizational structure and partnerships to programming, member experience, and community growth. Connect with Jess: ⁠Jess Lowry LinkedIn⁠ Subscribe to Deprecated Human Deprecated Human is an ongoing investigation into what happens when human value is quietly redefined. The newsletter goes deeper. Subscribers receive: Research summaries and source materialKey insights from podcast episodesEmerging signals and trendsPractical recommendations for individuals and organizationsMonthly findings reports from the broader investigation This isn't another productivity newsletter. It's a research project focused on understanding how work, expertise, and human value are changing—and what we can do about it. ⁠Subscribe to the Deprecated Human Newsletter on Beehiiv⁠

    Human Stories: A Conversation with Ross A. McIntyre

About

The Deprecated Human Podcast is a weekly show exploring the growing gap between what the AI industry promises and what people actually experience. Examining how narratives about technological capability are reshaping work, value, and human potential. Each week, the show releases episodes centered on a central theme. Hosted by Jess Lowry, a design strategist with over two decades of experience applying human-centered design across organizations, the podcast brings in diverse voices to explore each topic from multiple perspectives.