Award-winning technology journalist Deepa Seetharaman will visit the University of Wisconsin–Madison from October 20–23 as the Fall 2025 Business Journalist in Residence, hosted by the Wisconsin School of Business. Her reporting spans the rise of artificial intelligence, the evolution of Big Tech, and the societal impact of digital platforms.
Seetharaman is a Tech Correspondent at Reuters, based in San Francisco, where she covers artificial intelligence and OpenAI. Her reporting focuses on cutting-edge research, corporate strategy, and the global impact of AI at a pivotal moment for the technology.
She began her journalism career at Reuters, covering the U.S. auto industry in Detroit before moving to San Francisco to report on Amazon. She later spent a decade at The Wall Street Journal, where she led coverage of Facebook (now Meta), investigating the company’s business practices, cultural influence, and the societal effects of its platforms. Her work has explored topics ranging from Instagram’s impact on teenage girls to the limitations of AI in moderating harmful content.
Her reporting has earned some of journalism’s highest honors, including the George Polk Award for Business Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Award in Beat Reporting.
As part of her visit, Seetharaman will headline a public panel discussion titled “AI: Beyond the Headlines,” scheduled for Monday, October 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the newly opened Morgridge Hall. The event will feature a conversation with WSB faculty experts on the real-world implications of artificial intelligence and the questions that remain unanswered. A reception will precede the program from 5 to 5:30 p.m.
The Wisconsin School of Business is home to a growing community of scholars exploring artificial intelligence through diverse lenses—including marketing analytics, operations, risk management, and business ethics. Faculty are advancing research on how AI is transforming decision-making, consumer behavior, and organizational strategy.
In addition to the public event, Seetharaman will meet with students, faculty, and campus leaders throughout the week. Her agenda includes visits with the new AI student organization and the RISE-AI faculty at WSB, classroom engagements at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and a conversation with scholars at the College of Letters and Science’s new Center for Humanistic Inquiry into AI and Uncertainty. She will also lead a faculty workshop on media strategy and positioning research for public audiences.
The Business Journalist in Residence Program is part of UW–Madison’s campus-wide Journalist in Residence initiative, which connects national reporters with academic experts for in-depth, evidence-based conversations that go beyond soundbites. While faculty engagement is a priority, the program benefits the entire WSB community—offering students, program leaders, and alumni a chance to engage with journalists who shape public understanding of business and technology. Past participants have included journalists from NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Marketplace, and more.
The public is invited to “AI: Beyond the Headlines” on Monday, Oct. 20. See details and RSVP below.