Welcome to Exponential View, the show where I explore how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping our future. I've been studying AI and exponential technologies at the frontier for over ten years. Each week, I share some of my analysis or speak with an expert guest to make light of a particular topic. 

To keep up with the Exponential transition, subscribe to this channel or to my newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/ 

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In this episode, I share my outlook for 2026 and explain why AI tools now feel genuinely different. I explore how the act of making has been transformed, why authenticity and meaning will become the new scarcity, and whether the foundations of energy and capital can hold. I also address the question I was asked most in 2025: when will the AI bubble burst? 

Skip to the best bits: 

00:00 Why AI feels different in 2026 

01:59 The six shifts in AI 03:32 The "done list" era 

06:43 From execution to orchestration 

09:02 The agentic coding revolution 

11:10 What's a Chief Question Officer? 

13:58 Three ways value will be created 

16:27 "Claude told me to use ChatGPT" 

18:02 The AI usage gap 

20:30 The new moat in 2026 

26:10 How does solar growth affect AI? 

28:53 Revisiting the bubble or boom question 

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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/azhar/ 

Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem 

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Production and research: Chantal Smith and Marija Gavrilov.

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