AI Losers

About this episode

Jessa and Nico discuss the implications of AI in artistic work and the cultural backlash against its use.

The New York Times recently cut ties with a freelancer after it was revealed he had used AI to assist in the writing of a book review. What is the source of the scandal -- that an underpaid worker uses technology to help him meet a deadline, or that your publication uses such a predictable structure in the work it puts out that AI can easily mimic the formula? The outrage that typically greets any use of AI comes out of a fear that maybe we don't need humans to write our book reviews, our movie scripts, our military propaganda at all. When filmmaker Steven Soderbergh announced he'd be using AI for a future project, there were immediate calls to boycott. But if anything, AI usage seems like a wake-up call to notice how we've created a gatekept, risk-averse cultural space. Jessa and Nico discuss artistic workslop and why everyone going into the trades isn't going to save us from AI. Shownotes and references: http://theculturewedeserve.substack.com

People in this episode

Host: Jessa Crispin

Guest: Nico

Topics covered

• AI
• cultural criticism
• technology in art
• freelance work
• gatekeeping
• artistic integrity

Keywords

• AI
• The New York Times
• Steven Soderbergh
• book reviews
• cultural space
• artistic workslop

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New York Times

More episodes of The Culture We Deserve

• Why Are All of Our Communists Millionaires? · April 30, 2026 · 1h 40m
• Our Reality Star Overlords · April 9, 2026 · 1h 59m
• Are We Doomed? · April 2, 2026 · 1h 55m
• Taste Will Save Us from AI · March 26, 2026 · 1h 59m
• Revolutionary Nostalgia · March 19, 2026 · 2h 3m
• The End of Lifestyle Feminism · March 12, 2026 · 2h 9m