Author Death

Enjoyed reading this essay on the future of authorship and why that's not such a bad thing. The author argues that the disruption LLMs cause is not that they end human writing or authorship, but rather that they expose the inherent fiction of the author’s singular authority. Ultimately, meaning and authority in writing have always depended on interpretation, social agreement, and context, not the living voice of an author.

AI simply makes this reality undeniable. That is probably a good thing in the end. Ancient epics (like The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Mahabharata) stand as historical proof that lasting, meaningful, and authoritative texts do not require a known author. Their ongoing life demonstrates that meaning is shaped by collective participation, interpretation, and context is becoming clear with the rise of AI-generated texts. The “death of the author” is not just a modern idea; it’s a return to the way stories were born, lived, and thrived throughout most of human history. 

This is not something to mourn because the fact that ancient epics have survived and flourished without known authors actually demonstrates the resilience of narrative and meaning outside of individual authorship. Their authority and literary status come from cultural adoption, continual reinterpretation, and communal memory, not from a unique, identifiable creator. Maybe we will writing that stands the test of time instead of being one of million books each with their five to fifteen minutes of fame.