AI & the future of media with The Atlantic CEO, Nicholas Thompson

Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, led one of the first major content licensing deals with OpenAI in 2024. In this conversation, he joins Azeem to unpack how AI is transforming media – and what that means for every business navigating the shifting economics of attention, trust, and discovery.
We cover:
(01:49) Journalism’s four horsemen
(5:33) The collapse of search
(9:07) Cloudflare’s counterattack
(13:56) Is this the search-traffic fix?
(17:42) Rise of the sovereign creator
(22:57) Do great writers need editors?
(26:22) Why conservatives win new media
(27:17) How Substack drives discovery
(31:08) East Coast vs. West Coast ethics
(35:11) How Nick uses AI in writing
(42:13) Is AI friend or foe to journalism?
(45:32) The Atlantic’s survival plan
Nick's links:
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasxthompson/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/nxthompson
Substack: https://nxthompson.substack.com
Azeem's links:
Substack: 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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About Exponential View:
Welcome to Exponential View, where Azeem Azhar examines how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping the future. Each week, Azeem shares his analysis or speaks with an expert guest to shed light on frontier shifts across technology, business and society.
To keep up with the Exponential transition, subscribe to this channel or the newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/
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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/azeem/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem
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Production and research: Baba Films, Marija Gavrilov.
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