At the San Diego Book Festival on Saturday, August 23, 2025, a packed and enthusiastic audience welcomed author, political leader, and activist Stacey Abrams, giving her several standing ovations during her conversation with moderator and cohost of KPBS’s local Midday Edition, Jade Hindmon. The event, hosted by KPBS, showcased Abrams’ signature blend of storytelling, policy insight, and urgency about civic participation.
“Politics is the tool, and social justice is the mission,” she told the crowd, adding that whether through law, activism, or novels, her through line is always storytelling.
Abrams spoke about her latest legal thriller featuring heroine Avery Keene, which uses the framework of suspense to explore the dangers and promises of artificial intelligence. She explained that AI “is the most sophisticated version of an invasion of privacy,” urging the public to ask harder questions about how their data is being used and demanding regulation that safeguards equity and democracy.
Throughout the discussion, Abrams tied her creative work to broader civic themes, reminding listeners that storytelling can make complex issues accessible. She recounted how a young relative’s casual use of ChatGPT sparked Abrams’ deeper research into AI, leading her to weave questions of privacy, healthcare, and diversity into her fiction.
“We might be exchanging our freedom for their profit,” she warned, calling for collective vigilance against unchecked technological and political power.
Abrams also emphasized the role of ordinary people in safeguarding democracy: “We are the ones we’re waiting for,” she said, urging the audience to keep speaking up, showing up locally, and refusing to believe their voices are too small. Her blend of humor, clarity, and conviction left festival-goers energized, a testament to her ability to bridge literature, politics, and public action.
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