The Next Big Idea THE FUTURE OF WRITING: A Conversation with Ethan Mollick and Steven Johnson
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Aug 28, 2025 
Join Ethan Mollick, a Wharton professor and AI enthusiast, and Steven Johnson, Editorial Director at Google Labs, as they dive into the future of writing. Discover how Steven penned 40,000 words in just 72 hours using AI! The duo discusses the evolving concept of books and how they may transform into interactive experiences for readers. They also explore the balance between AI-generated ideas and human creativity, questioning whether tech can truly match our writing prowess. Strap in for a fascinating look at AI's impact on storytelling!
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Make Conversations Mineable
- Record conversations and transcribe them to make information mineable by AI.
- Use AI to pull key takeaways so research becomes actionable without manual sifting.
Decompose The Creative Process
- Break writing into distinct stages: variation, selection, and expansion.
- Use AI where you need diversity and curation where you need judgment.
Use AI For Labor, Not Final Judgment
- Use AI for timelines, brainstorming, and semantic search but don't rely on it to evaluate your work.
- Keep human editorial judgment for final assessment to avoid sycophantic model feedback.
