# AI Writing and the Collapse of a Literate Culture

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-polity-1279735/ai-writing-and-the-collapse-of-a-literate-culture
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-polity-1279735/ai-writing-and-the-collapse-of-a-literate-culture.md
Podcast: [New Polity](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-polity-1279735)
Published: 2026-01-22T21:00:01+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newpolity/episodes/AI-Writing-and-the-Collapse-of-a-Literate-Culture-e3e1gfs
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/2e7ac71c/podcast/play/114393020/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-22%2F416626655-44100-2-c5562a594771d.mp3
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Duration seconds: 4754

## Resource

The book has long been the place of completed thought, able to incorporate previous work and advance new thought. That is going away. AI generation is polluting the discourse; leading to a state where all "new" publications are, in fact, summarized AI restatements of the previous state of the question. In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Andrew Willard Jones discuss the effects of AI on the the technology of the books, and how a literate culture persists. Subscribe to New Polity Magazine!: https://newpolity.com/magazineRegister for New Polity's 2026 Conference! https://newpolity.com/2026Help us make more: visit https://www.newpolity.com/donate

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## Transcript

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