Episode
Writing Against the Machine: On Artistic Culture in the AI Age with Matthew Gasda
- Podcast
- New Books Network
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3102
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://newbooksnetwork.com
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Summary
Debates about AI typically deal with its immediate material consequences, from cybersecurity and infrastructure to plagiarism and copyright. Yet most people deal with AI as a generative consumer product that raises longer-term questions about its cultural effects on American society, human art, and ultimately, our souls. What is the role of the artist, for example, when a bot can crank out the same thing more quickly and efficiently? To help answer that question, as we continue Season 6, I have as our guest the playwright, novelist, and essayist Matthew Gasda. The author of the novels The Sleepers (2025) and Stranger Beauty (2026), he has written, produced, and directed over thirty plays, including Dimes Square, Zoomers, and Doomers, with his former production company, The Center for Theatre Research.