XV: Brandon Sanderson & the Future of AI Writing w/ Merrick + Raj

This week we got together with friend of the pod Merrick and friend of the friend of the pod to discuss Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive. Along the way we had some pretty interesting speculation about the future of algorithms, AI writing, and open-source software. I personally think that this was the most interesting episode we have ever done content-wise, so I would encourage you to give it a listen! We’ll see you all with a fresh season next week.Thanks for listening!TIMESTAMPS00:00:12 - Intro00:00:38 - The group tries to sell Kevin on The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson00:01:18 - Gordon thinks that the characters in The Stormlight Archive are too dynamic00:03:31 - Explanation of the series actually starts00:07:08 - Is the popularity of The Stormlight Archive surprising?00:09:34 - Is Brandon Sanderson right to look past TV for an adaptation of his Cosmere universe?00:13:41 - Will TV shows go the way of books or are they just too resource-constrained? feat. Invincible00:16:17 - The “Sanderlanche” and The Wandering Inn00:21:03 - The Wandering Inn is able to use its massive length to be both epic fantasy and slice of life all at once00:25:14 - Gordon thinks The Wandering Inn jumped the shark by introducing too much global connectivity and making the world feel small as a result00:27:22 - Is reading getting more popular? / Books as lifestyle00:29:48 - How might algorithms change the text medium?00:34:00 - Kevin comes up with the concept of “sakugAI” (see Kevin’s article)00:35:51 - Raj's involvement in open source software00:39:05 - Bad selection biases in very active Internet participants00:41:25 - Why isn't there better open-source social media?00:46:46 - Conclusion and final recommendations* “They’re Made out of Meat” by Terry Bisson* “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison00:47:30 - Synthesized Sunsets Backstage begins00:48:31 - Despite being "popular", The Stormlight Archive isn't nearly as popular as anything in the monoculture00:51:07 - Reading has drifted from a self-improvement activity to a desirable “lifestyle” in the culture00:55:04 - The declining value of having good music taste and the appeal of a good radio station00:55:53 - Kevin has interesting feelings about the radio00:58:23 - Why Kevin sets his Spotify Radio DJ to Spanish01:00:43 - Gordon and Kevin ponder their “counterfactual music tastes” if they had been born in an earlier era01:04:35 - The concept of “sakugAI” revisited01:11:45 - What would the road to sakugAI look like?01:14:40 - The first AI writers will be hated01:19:09 - Gordon's article “The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere and the Art of Good Fantasy Conversations”01:22:04 - Kevin glazes The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere for its "spikiness"01:23:40 - Kevin reads a banger quote from The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere01:27:03 - TBTBN's resemblance to Middlemarch by George Eliot01:27:46 - The extremely mentally cooked protagonist of TFTBN is really good at portraying themself as a bad person01:29:29 - "Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown" by Ursula K. Le Guin01:31:59 - TFTBN benefits from having the editorial freedom for nothing to happen01:33:18 - Gordon recounts initially coming across TFTBN01:34:19 - Gordon clarifies that fantasy may not even want to go in a conversation-oriented direction01:35:31 - Conclusion and final recommendations* “Hear the Wind Sing” by Haruki MurakamiLINKS* The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson* The Invincible North Korean animators scandal* The Wandering Inn by pirateaba* “Enshittification Is a Choice” by Cory Doctorow* “Reliable Sources” by TracingWoodgrains* KEXP Seattle Radio* Annie Mac’s final show on BBC Radio 1* Kevin’s article “The Future of Fantasy is Sakug(AI)”* Gordon’s article “The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere and the Art of Good Fantasy Conversations”* The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere by Lurina This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit synthesizedsunsets.substack.com/subscribe