More than a year ago, Melody put a placeholder in our shared podcast planning document: SOMETHING SMART ABOUT AI. We were sick, bored, or frustrated with the way so many podcasts were talking about it — usually because it involved dudes talking with other dudes and universalizing proclamations about whether artificial intelligence was going to usher in an age of utopia (doubtful) or kill us all (doubtful but more probable). We wanted someone willing to get into the gray areas of LLM and chatbot use in particular — someone with real experience with what they can do and real ambivalence about what they do to us.
That person is Vauhini Vara, author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, and one of my absolute favorite thinkers working and writing today. In this episode, we talk about how LLMs short circuit the creative process, how they're changing the way students learn to think and discern, the specious argument that AI "democratizes creativity," really bad AI art, and why it's so hard to talk about AI usage just generally. I loved this conversation and keep coming back to the ideas, challenges, hopes, and frustrations we discussed — I think you will too.
AI comes for the Community Flyer
Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:
- Ollie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 70% off your first box!
- Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep. Use code CULTUREPOD for an extra 30% off at blissy.com/CULTUREPOD.
- Use code CULTURE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a free gift with your first purchase!
- If you’re looking to make a small change in your routine, you can get 15% off your first order at Blueland.com/CULTURE**.**
Show Notes:
- Follow Vauhini on Bluesky here and learn more about her work here
- Buy Searches (which you know I LOVED!) here
- Read my interview with Vauhini from last year about Searches here
- Vauhini's essay in the The Believer that we repeatedly reference — "Ghosts"
- Vauhini's piece in Bloomberg on chatbots and AI in kids' classrooms
- You can find a transcript of this episode here
We're currently looking for your questions on the following topics:
- HOW TO FIGHT! Priya Parker has a new book on how to actually disagree (fruitfully!) with others, so this is your opportunity to ask all those questions about the people in your life who shut down when you disagree / escalate unnecessarily / immediately throw straw-men your way ('people in your life' can also include you, of course)
- WTF IS GOING ON WITH DUDES/ DESPERATE MASCULINITY RIGHT NOW with Jon Ronson. You can read about his incredible new book here, but the gist is: the old order of masculinity is collapsing, and some very weird behaviors are emerging amidst that collapse. What have you noticed, what's alarming, what are your theories about how dudes are dude-ing the way they are — let's go.
- FINANCIAL INTERDEPENDENCE with Maria Melchor, author of Always Have Enough. Instead of aiming for financial independence, what does it mean to try and build a sort of collective wealth for your family and community? How does the idea of wealth operate differently for first-generation immigrants — and what lessons should everyone adopt?
- All things CODE-SWITCHING with Ari Shaprio and Audie Cornish (how do you change your voice, your posture, your demeanor, your subject areas, the way you talk about reality television, whatever, depending on layered context)
- Anything you need advice for/want musings about for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything — it’s literally the name of the segment.
- Join the ranks of paid subscribers and get bonus content, access to the discussion threads, ad-free episodes, and the knowledge that you're supporting an indie pod trying to make its way in the world.
- Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
- Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
- Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
