In this episode, The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson speaks with serial entrepreneur and Idealab founder Bill Gross about his latest venture, ProRata, a bold attempt to create a fair exchange of value between AI companies and the creators whose work helped train their models. From inventing search advertising to tackling one of AI’s most urgent ethical challenges, Gross explains how innovation and fair market dynamics can align—and how humans are still underestimating the transformative power of AI.
(00:00) Introduction
(06:32) How Bill invented paid search in the 1990s
(13:29) NYT v. OpenAI as the “lightning strike moment” that inspired ProRata
(16:16) Solving the “impossible problem” of AI attribution
(21:36) ProRata’s plan for revenue sharing between creators and AI companies
(24:13) How YouTube shows revenue sharing could make AI companies even stronger
(28:20) When there will be a one-person company with a billion-dollar valuation
(29:23) AI could be net positive for the climate in as little as five years
(33:01) The most interesting way Bill has used AI recently
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