AI's Impact on History Writing and Journalism, w/ The New York Times Magazine's Editorial Director Bill Wasik

AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser

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