What Steven Johnson thinks about chat interfaces

@steven-johnson · 16 positions · On ppll ↗

Non-fiction writer, podcaster and occasional TV host. Author of thirteen books including The Ghost Map, Where Good Ideas Come From and Extra Life, host of the PBS series How We Got To Now, and author of the Adjacent Possible newsletter on innovation.

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Only Steven Johnson on chat interfaces. See everyone on chat interfaces

1 dated position, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Steven Johnson has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. 2 Jun 2026

   Our readingCurrent fears about AI causing harmful cognitive offloading are largely based on outdated impressions of early chatbots rather than today's AI tools.

   Their wordsTo a certain extent, the concerns about cognitive offloading are an example of technological lag, where the mainstream discussion of AI and its impact is still framed in terms of the first-generation chatbots.

   ↗Cognitive Uploadingadjacentpossible.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece