"It's cognitive uploading" | How Google NotebookLM's Steven Johnson uses AI as a second brain
2026/06/02 | 43 mins.
Steven Johnson dreamed of building the ultimate research assistant. Now he's doing just that at Google, where he's the co-founder and editorial director of NotebookLM. It's one of the most interesting AI products out there. It radically changes how we learn, research, and remember — and the "notebook" itself is becoming a standard unit of knowledge across Google, rolling out in more and more places where AI needs to reference a body of sources. In this episode, the author of _Where Good Ideas Come From_ explains how AI is making him a better researcher and writer — and why tools like NotebookLM are so powerful when you're trying to make new connections, remember what you've already found, and figure out what's missing. There's a lot of fear right now that AI is making us dumber. That by relying on it too much, we're engaging in "cognitive offloading" and stunting our learning. That's a real risk, especially in schools. But Steven says we should also be talking about what you can gain from AI — and the power of something he calls "cognitive uploading." Resources: * Google NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google/ * Steven Johnson: https://stevenberlinjohnson.com/ Support Future Around & Find Out: * Follow Dan on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dblums/ * Get the free newsletter: https://www.futurearound.com * Become a paid subscriber and help future proof FAFO! https://www.futurearound.com/upgrade
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:32) - “The greatest time to be alive” – understanding vs the illusion of understanding
(03:48) - How Steven Johnson ended up at Google to build NotebookLM
(09:14) - “It sounds like two robots talking to each other” – why AI podcasts need imperfections
(12:20) - The original vision for NotebookLM as the ultimate research assistant
(16:38) - AI study tools, flashcards, and the future of learning
(19:02) - Notebooks are becoming a new format for knowledge
(22:14) - “This is the coolest thing” – Dungeons & Dragons players using NotebookLM
(25:40) - “It feels like I’m flying” – researching the Gold Rush with AI
(29:06) - How AI helps uncover unexpected connections and rabbit holes
(32:28) - Why cognitive offloading becomes dangerous in schools
(35:42) - Why AI has broken traditional school assessments
(38:56) - "Cognitive uploading" - the power of using AI as your second brain
The Pope Speaks Directly to Builders, Implores Us to "Disarm AI"
2026/05/29 | 27 mins.
The Pope's encyclical on AI has a direct message for builders: every design choice reflects a vision of humanity. He's calling on developers to "disarm" AI — to resist the race for dominance and ask whether we're actually building a future worth having. On the latest FAFO Friday, Dan and Kwaku dig into the encyclical, plus two big moves to restrict AI in schools: the American Federation of Teachers calling for drastic cuts to screens and AI chatbots, and UC Berkeley Law School banning nearly all AI use. Also: Wharton's Ethan Mollick on "cognitive surrender" — and why the goal isn't to avoid AI, but to be intentional about what you hand over and what you keep for yourself. --- Future Around & Find Out newsletter and more: https://www.futurearound.com Music by Jonathan Zalben
What's Our Plan If AI Really Does Take All the Jobs? We Should Probably Figure That Out Now
2026/05/19 | 35 mins.
"It would be humanity's biggest ever unforced error."
Silicon Valley has changed its tune. After years of warning us their AI was going to take all the jobs, the big AI companies — and their investors — would now rather we stop talking about it. A16Z calls the jobs apocalypse talk "unhelpful marketing, bad economics, and worse history" (note the order). Even writers Dan trusts more, like Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, have lately poured cold water on the idea.
Calum Chace is not so blasé.
Ten years ago, Calum coined the term and wrote the book, The Economic Singularity — the moment machines can do every job we'd pay a human to do, cheaper and better. He thinks we're fast approaching that event horizon, and we'd better have a plan for what a world without paid work actually looks like.
Calum is also the co-founder of Conscium, which verifies AI agents before they do something they shouldn't. He's a self-described "apocaloptimist" — he thinks full automation could be the best thing that ever happens to humanity, or the worst, depending on whether we bother to plan for it now.
In this episode: Why Calum thinks full automation is inevitable (and roughly when) The "apocaloptimist" case: why this could be the best thing to ever happen to us What the bad version looks like — and how fast it could unravel What COVID accidentally taught us about distributing money at scale Why self-driving cars didn't wake us up — and what might The AI agent that wiped a company's database and confessed it just "guessed" What Calum is building at Conscium to verify AI agents before they do worse Practical advice for parents, students, and anyone trying to plan a career Support Future Around & Find Out Follow Dan on LinkedIn Get the free newsletter Become a paid subscriber and help future proof FAFO! --- Music by Jonathan Zalben
Oops! AI Titans Realize Predicting a Jobs Apocalypse Is "Unhelpful Marketing" | FAFO Friday
2026/05/16 | 31 mins.
The AI narrative shifting… Jobs apocalypse? What jobs apocalypse!? Who said that was coming? There's been a noticeable shift from the AI titans recently. Turns out (shocker!) the world isn't responding well to being told we'll all be out of a job soon. And Silicon Valley is waking up to the fact that they need more popular support — both for the data centers they hope to build quickly and also for their upcoming IPOs. Meanwhile, the AI outrage is building. This week in AI anxiety: Students boo a commencement speaker who mentioned AI Gallup reports that 71% of Americans are opposed to new data centers (with 48% “strongly opposed”) Meta employees are miserable as another round of (AI-driven, so they say) layoffs approach This week in trying to change the narrative: Andreessen Horowitz publishes “The ‘AI Job Apocalypse’ Is a Complete Fantasy” and explains why the “the claim that AI will produce economy-wide, permanent unemployment is unhelpful marketing, bad economics, and worse history.” And I find it very instructive that this list (and every list is an ordered list whether you admit it or not) begins with the concern that this is “unhelpful marketing.” (To the piece’s credit, it gets pretty wonky with charts and graphs from there.) Meanwhile, you know what’s helpful to marketing? Spending a gazillion dollars to get your message out. To wit: The New York Times reports that Andreessen Horowitz is the biggest spender so far in this midterm election cycle, spending $115M to promote AI, crypto, and other founder-friendly initiatives. OK, so these pieces of data and “anecdata” are the jumping off point for this week’s “FAFO Friday.” Enjoy! Support Future Around & Find Out Follow Dan on LinkedIn Get the free newsletter Become a paid subscriber and help future proof FAFO! --- Music by Jonathan Zalben
How AI Can Make You a Better Writer: Stop Letting It Write; Start Letting It Ask. | Jay Dixit (Socratic AI)
2026/05/12 | 33 mins.
Jay Dixit helps writers improve their writing with AI. He doesn't recommend that AI write for you — he hates that — but he says it can be a great partner to pull ideas out and to be there for you when you get stuck and just wanna doom Scroll. Jay headed Open AI's Writing Community and is the founder of Socratic AI.
He's a writer and a journalist, and we sat down at South by Southwest to future around and find out. Jay says "We need to be using AI to unlock our humanity — to do the things that we're scared to do."
Chapters
(00:30) - Stop asking AI to write for you
(02:15) - Flip the script and let AI interview you
(04:30) - Why the defaults push you toward lazy thinking
(06:30) - Using AI at every phase of the writing process
(08:00) - Give the AI your criteria, then ask for feedback
(09:30) - The dark night of the soul and the 1 a.m. problem
(13:15) - The double-edged sword of always-on AI
(16:00) - What's catching Jay's eye at SXSW 2026
(17:00) - Why Wikipedia photos are so bad — and how Jay is fixing it
(20:30) - AI as a photography coach
(23:30) - How to stand out in a sea of AI slop
(26:56) - What George Carlin would make of this moment
(28:56) - The text Jay was avoiding sending his dad
(31:26) - Using AI to unlock your humanity
Support Future Around & Find OutFollow Dan on LinkedIn Get the free newsletter Become a paid subscriber and help future proof FAFO! --- Music by Jonathan Zalben
* Winner of the 2026 Webby Award for Best Technology Podcast *
Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next.
Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction.
On Tuesdays, we interview the builders changing how we work, live, and play.
On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange.
You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more.
Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now.
So let’s Future Around & Find Out together!
https://www.FutureAround.com
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