Welcome to Exponential View, the show where I explore how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping our future. I've been studying AI and exponential technologies at the frontier for over ten years. Each week, I share some of my analysis or speak with an expert guest to make light of a particular topic.
To keep up with the Exponential transition, subscribe to this channel or to my newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/
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In this episode, I share my outlook for 2026 and explain why AI tools now feel genuinely different. I explore how the act of making has been transformed, why authenticity and meaning will become the new scarcity, and whether the foundations of energy and capital can hold. I also address the question I was asked most in 2025: when will the AI bubble burst?
Skip to the best bits:
00:00 Why AI feels different in 2026
01:59 The six shifts in AI 03:32 The "done list" era
06:43 From execution to orchestration
09:02 The agentic coding revolution
11:10 What's a Chief Question Officer?
13:58 Three ways value will be created
16:27 "Claude told me to use ChatGPT"
18:02 The AI usage gap
20:30 The new moat in 2026
26:10 How does solar growth affect AI?
28:53 Revisiting the bubble or boom question
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Where to find me:
Exponential View newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/
Website: https://www.azeemazhar.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azhar/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem
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Production and research: Chantal Smith and Marija Gavrilov.
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