The Informed Frontier

From court decisions to bot-blocking infrastructure, the AI licensing landscape shifted dramatically in 2025, leaving publishers to learn along the way. In this live Q&A, Jessica speaks with Nicholas Thompson about major shifts in 2025 and his predictions for a fair exchange of value between AI and media. Featured Guest: Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic

AI tools have the potential to transform research discovery. In this episode, Jessica speaks with JL Needham about lessons from the last era of search, building partnerships between publishers and AI developers, and his advice for navigating disruption. Featured Guest: JL Needham, Director of Partnerships at Consensus

For over a decade, Figshare has led the way in making scientific research and data open to the world. In 2025, that entails figuring out how to continue their vital work of serving the research ecosystem, while managing the impact of a new type of user: AI bots. In this episode, Jessica speaks to Figshare founder Mark Hahnel about the history and future of open data and how human-AI collaboration could spark a perpetual research cycle.

As AI systems increasingly consume scientific literature, publishers face fundamental questions about the format and function of the research paper. In this episode, Jessica speaks with Chirag “Jay” Patel about atomizing science, answer engine optimization, and what academic publishers should learn from the music industry.

How should libraries balance their core mission with the demands of rapidly changing technology? In this episode, Jessica speaks with Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe about human and AI readers, the impact of bots on digital collections, and the future of virtual information research assistants.

Publishing has navigated successive disruptions over the last few decades – from print to digital, web search and Google Scholar, and now AI as a new user of content. In this episode, Jessica speaks with Wendy Queen about learning from inflection points in digital publishing and why Johns Hopkins University Press decided to license its content for training AI models. Featured Guest: Wendy Queen, Chief Transformation Officer at Johns Hopkins University Press

If AI seems human, should it get human rights? In this episode, Jessica speaks with David Atkinson about the risks of legal personhood and exceptionalism for AI systems, what’s at stake in ongoing copyright and fair use cases, and why property law might be the best defense against unwanted bots.

ChatGPT changed everything: now, confronted with a fascinating and fast-moving technology, organizations face urgent questions around AI governance, licensing, and copyright. In this episode, Jessica speaks with Lauren McLeod Tulloch about how AI is shifting the legal landscape and what firms need to know to manage AI tools responsibility. Featured Guest: Lauren McLeod Tulloch, Vice President and Managing Director at Copyright Clearance Center

Generative AI presents an extraordinary opportunity for media and technology, but only if content owners and creators can survive the existential threats posed by a shifting paradigm. In this episode, Jessica speaks with Josh Freeman about how authors and publishers can support fair attribution and compensation amid disruption. Featured Guest: Josh Freeman, Vice President of Business Development at ProRata.ai