Steven Johnson spent decades figuring out the best ways to turn his research into words on the page. Now, he’s adapting those methods for Gemini Notebook, Google’s AI-powered interactive bibliography. (Until recently, it was called NotebookLM.) But in building a tool designed to synthesize ideas, is there a risk of taking humans too far out of the writing process? In conversation with The Atlantic’s Nicholas Thompson, Johnson discusses the best practices, ethics, and limitations of using AI as a collaborator.
The Atlantic has a licensing agreement with Gemini Notebook, and Google also advertises with The Atlantic. This episode was not a part of those deals.
Produced independently of The Atlantic’s editorial staff. Supporting sponsor: PwC.
(00:00) Introduction
(05:10) The evolution of Steven's writing process
(08:22) Managing the "iceberg" of research
(11:45) The ethics of AI-assisted writing
(19:02) What happens when AI becomes as good at writing as humans
(24:17) Why some genres could change drastically with AI
(29:10) How AI might undo polarization
(34:45) Designing educational guardrails for AI
(44:26) What will AI do to writing styles?
(49:10) Licensing author personas and protecting creators
(56:52) A rule of thumb for how to use AI
(58:00) What Steven would do if he had an unlimited budget to invest in AI
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
August 12, 2026