SIRI HUSTVEDT on Love, Grief, AI, Creativity & the Future of Humanity

SIRI HUSTVEDT on Love, Grief, AI, Creativity & the Future of Humanity

From AI & The Future of Humanity: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, VR, Algorithm, Automation, ChatBPT, Robotics, Augmented Reality, Big Data, IoT, Social Media, CGI, Generative-AI, Innovation, Nanotechnology, Science, Quantum Computing: The Creative Process Interviews by The Creative Process Original Series: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Innovation, Engineering, Robotics & Internet of Things

February 23, 2026 · 1h 38m · Season 16 · Episode 1218

About this episode

Siri Hustvedt discusses the emotional complexities of grief, love, and memory in relation to her late husband, Paul Auster.

“Grief happens because you don't stop loving the person who died. The person doesn't exist in your reality anymore. The everyday is not colored and shaped by this other human being, but you don't stop loving the person. So grief is a particular kind of unrequited love. And probably without that dynamic relationship with this person, I would be someone else. And he would've been someone else. I mean, Paul died before me. But we were, I think, hugely important to the drama of becoming in our own lives.” Today, we are honored to welcome a writer whose work has long explored the intimate landscapes of the mind, memory and the heart. Siri Hustvedt ’s writing moves between the personal and the philosophical, the literary and the deeply human. Her work bridges collections of essays, non-fiction, poetry, and seven novels, including the international bestsellers What I Loved and The Summer Without Men . Recipient of the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature and the Gabarron Prize for Thought, her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Her new memoir, Ghost Stories , is a reflection on forty-three years shared with her late husband, the writer and filmmaker Paul Auster…

People in this episode

Guest: Siri Hustvedt

Topics covered

  • grief
  • love
  • creativity
  • memory
  • philosophy
  • literature

Keywords

  • grief
  • love
  • Siri Hustvedt
  • Paul Auster
  • creativity
  • memory
  • literature

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