How do you feel about having enemies?

I think it's a part of life.

And anyway, if you didn't have any, what sort of boring person are you?

Hey, everyone, it's Adam Grant.

Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast with Ted on the Science of What Makes Us Tick.

I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating

people to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking.

Margaret Atwood is the author best known for The Handmaid's Tale. She's won a slew of awards for her

novels, poetry collections, nonfiction, and children's books.

And now, for the first time in 86 years, she's written a memoir, The Book of Lives.

It's one of her first books published in the era of AI, which she has quite a few thoughts about.

People want to feel they're connecting with another human mind. And if it is AI, they're not connecting

with another human mind. They are connecting with an amalgam of other human minds put together.

We know not how, but there isn't a, what we use to call a soul behind what you're reading.

But it's probably quite good at company reports because those don't have souls.

I'm just sharing this with you.

I first got the chance to speak with Margaret a few years ago about procrastination.

She likened it to going swimming in a very cold lake and said,

if you're going to do it, you've got to just run in screaming. Today, we talked about what

convinced her to jump into the very cold lake of writing a memoir and about creativity, AI,

and what to do about your enemies. Margaret, it's lovely to see you again. Are those all your books behind you?

They're all my books, but not all the additions of all my books.

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