Episode
Why AI Can't Make Art - Film Sets, First Drafts, and Freelancing
- Podcast
- Gods, Ghosts & UFOs
- Published
- Apr 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1927
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Pretty soon, we’re gonna have a little summer break. Among other things, it’s because Mal is shooting a movie and Jordan is moving his family from LA to Cedar City, Utah. But that’s not really what this episode is about. What it’s about is what happens when you make things that nobody asked you to make. Mal just finished the first draft of her first solo screenplay. Also, she’s been writing music alone in dark rooms for years and only recently felt like it was time to show anyone. Jordan wrote a novel once by telling himself he wasn’t allowed to write anything for anyone else to read, and rediscovered the passion he’d lost decades ago. Mal says she can’t quit the film industry without trying to make this movie first, and she’s defining success as having genuinely gone for it. Jordan says the thing you create can’t be valuable to other people unless it’s first valuable to you — which is also why AI can’t make art. Because AI doesn’t need it. Well, we sure do. Highlights: What’s coming up… Life on a film set Why Jordan gave up on directing Oscar Wilde on the blessing and curse of being an artist: you never become anything Mal finished the first draft of her first solo screenplay Sandboxes Freelance artist life Stop and Go - Mal’s first feature, made during the pandemic with a friend Writing songs in dark rooms for therapy Writing a novel for the same reason “It can’t be genuinely valuable for other people if it is not first valuable to the person who’s creating it” Why AI can’t make art Jordan’s imminent move away from LA to Cedar City, Utah Mal is operating on spiritual logic right now The podcast “forces me to challenge the more deeply worn grooves” Epilogue topics: Mal’s suspicion that she is a “tongue genius,” modern food science, and why food, money, and sex are the…