Future Around and Find Out
"It's cognitive uploading" | How Google NotebookLM's Steven Johnson uses AI as a second brain
Published: 2 June 2026 at 10:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
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/
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- (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
