Planet Money’s Jess Jiang to discuss how AI is transforming business 

Jess Jiang, an Emmy-winning journalist and editor of NPR’s economics podcast Planet Money, will visit the University of Florida campus as the university’s inaugural Business Journalist in Residence Feb. 5-8.

Her visit will include a public panel discussion titled, “How AI is Transforming Business: AI Disruption, Virtual Reality, and the Future of Work,” which will cover the business case for AI tools like ChatGPT, the ethical and reputational stakes for firms diving into AI, and the impact of virtual reality tech on how we work. The panel will include UF Professor of Journalism Sriram Kalyanaraman and Professor of Business Jim Hoover and will be moderated by fourth-year political science and journalism major Brett Posner Ferdman.  

Held at 4 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the Pugh Hall Ocora, the event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception. A livestream and recording of the talk will also be available.

As senior supervising editor of Planet Money, Jiang has helped launch the podcast’s own record label, investigated pandemic-era supply chain tangles at American ports, tracked down the true cost – and opportunity – of free returns, and gotten personal about personal finance with comedian and actor Maria Bamford. In 2014, she was part of the Planet Money team that won an Emmy for documenting the mind-bending scope and human impact of globalization by making their own t-shirt.

Jiang is also a former producer of NPR’s global features podcast Rough Translation. There she shared stories of international families formed out of surrogacy and the global experience of public shaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining NPR, Jiang worked on the Peabody Award-winning arts and culture radio show and podcast Studio 360. Jiang earned a degree in economics and environmental studies at Yale University.

UF’s Business Journalist in Residence program invites leading reporters in business and economics to campus to share their expertise with the campus community through class visits, public talks, and meetings with faculty and researchers in their area of coverage. The program is supported by the Warrington College of Business, the College of Journalism and Communications, and the Office of the Provost. The public talk is hosted by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.