LessWrong (30+ Karma) “Tomas Bjartur: The Last Prodigy” by Linch
Apr 13, 2026
A meditation on talented human writers facing the rise of AI creative tools. Close readings of Tomas Bjartur’s stories, focusing on interior voices, self-deception, and pacing. Discussion of how humor and technical accuracy shape his worlds. Notes on his background, strengths, and limitations as a possible final prodigy in fiction.
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AI Is Moving Toward Eclipse Of Human Fiction
- Human fiction faces impending obsolescence as LLMs rapidly approach and will likely surpass most human writers within years.
- The narrator frames this as an inevitable cultural shift, causing fans to begin mourning the loss of human-authored fiction.
Bagel Autobiography Made The Narrator Cry
- The host recounts reading Tomas Beato and feeling the tragedy of prodigy writers who may be outpaced by AI.
- He tells a comic-sad toaster/bagel anecdote where an AI narrated a bagel's autobiography so movingly he cried by paragraph three.
Meeting Tomas Beato At A Residency
- The narrator describes meeting Tomas Beato at a writing residency and learning Beato left web development to write before AIs made webdev obsolete.
- This personal encounter underscores Beato's authenticity and timeliness as an AI-focused writer.
