AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser
A podcast that explores the good, the bad, and the creepy of artificial intelligence. Weekly longform conversations with key players in the space, ranging from CEOs to artists to philosophers. Exploring the role of AI in film, health care, business, law, therapy, politics, and everything from religion to war.
Featured by Inc. Magazine as one of "4 Ways to Get AI Savvy in 2024," as "Host Jeff Wilser [gives] you a more holistic understanding of AI--such as the moral implications of using it--and his conversations might even spark novel ideas for how you can best use AI in your business."
AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser
AI's Impact on History Writing and Journalism, w/ The New York Times Magazine's Editorial Director Bill Wasik
What happens when AI becomes a co-pilot for writers, researchers, and journalists — not in theory, but in practice?
In this episode of AI-Curious, we speak with Bill Wasik, Editorial Director of The New York Times Magazine, who recently oversaw their special issue, “Learning to Live with AI.” We explore how AI is already transforming journalism, nonfiction writing, and historical research — and why the most interesting impacts may come not from content creation, but from how we discover, organize, and interpret information.
We dig into the creative tension between AI and human storytelling, including how historians are using tools like NotebookLM to tackle research projects previously deemed impossible. Bill shares how AI can augment writing workflows without compromising editorial judgment — and why trust and authorship still matter in a world of fast content.
We also cover:
- The risks of over-relying on AI for research (19:45)
- How AI might transform local journalism and accountability (41:30)
- The evolving AI policies at The New York Times (29:40)
- Whether AI could ever win the Booker Prize — and what that would mean (7:30)
- Use cases from historians and academics using ChatGPT (26:00)
Bill's (excellent) piece: "AI is Poised to Rewrite History. Literally."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/magazine/ai-history-historians-scholarship.html
The NYT Magazine's Special Issue:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/magazine/using-ai-hard-fork.html