The Slow Newscast Can AI write good literature?
8 snips
Mar 19, 2026 Tom Gatti, Observer book editor, gives an editorial take on AI mimicking genre tropes. Ada Barumé, author and podcast producer, shares experiments using ChatGPT to draft fiction. Erica Wagner, writer and former Booker judge, discusses authorship ethics and training-set controversies. They debate AI prose quality, originality, and the emotional and legal stakes of machine-made writing.
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Author Picks AI Over McCarthy And Feels Deflated
- Ada Barumé mistakenly chose an AI-written passage over Cormac McCarthy and felt deflated after learning the authorship.
- She described AI prose as seemingly meaningful until you learn it was generated, which sapped the emotional authenticity for her.
Cultivate Deep Reading To Discern Literary Style
- Erica recommends being clear-eyed about sources: her deep literary knowledge partly comes from having time to read extensively, not just innate superiority.
- She implies cultivating broad reading over time remains crucial to discerning writing quality.
AI Clarity Can Be Seductive But Flattens Oddness
- Tom Gatti observed AI writing often reads clearer and less weird than human poetry, which can make it seductive to general readers.
- He noted that this clarity removes ambiguity and the 'weirdness' that many literary readers value.
