Richard de Bury, bishop of Durham and advisor to King Edward III, was the owner of one of the largest private libraries of his time. Living in an age before the invention of the printing press (1287–1345), he existed in a world where the total number of books was still finite. In theory, it was possible for him to read every book known to him. This is why he is sometimes referred to, as “the last man who read all the books.”
Today, with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, the question seems to have flipped: not who will read everything, but who will be the last human to write anything at all.
Just a few days ago, a band called The Velvet Sundown took Spotify by storm with over 850,000 monthly listeners. But soon after, claims emerged that the band’s music was entirely AI-generated.
As computing power grows and generative models become more capable, we may be approaching a moment when the perfect book, the perfectly timed song, or even an entire film could be created specifically for you - instantly, and on demand.
Are we nearing a world where creation becomes a function of algorithms, not authors? And if so, what does that mean for the value we place on human expression? The Velvet Sundown posted on X “You believed in the lie and danced to it anyway.” Will we want to know the truth?