About this podcast

Dive into the future of learning with "The Vergecast" as host David Pierce chats with Steven Johnson, a celebrated author and Google's AI researcher. This episode kicks off a new miniseries exploring AI's everyday impact, focusing on how artificial intelligence can revolutionize education. Discover NotebookLM, Google's experimental AI-powered note-taking and research tool, and explore its potential to enhance understanding and automate study guides. The conversation also ventures into the fascinating (and wild) concept of AI-generated podcasts for learning, discussing their accuracy, utility, and what they could mean for the future of knowledge acquisition. Johnson shares his journey from author to AI innovator, highlighting his long-standing interest in "tools for thought" and how current language models are fundamentally changing how we interact with information.