Brandon Sanderson delivered a keynote speech recently that’s been making the rounds after he uploaded it to YouTube. Titled “We Are The Art,” the address positions itself as a philosophical meditation on creativity, the nature of art, and why AI-generated content threatens the very soul of artistic expression. It’s eloquent, well-structured, and features the kind of literary references from Oscar Wilde, to Roger Ebert, and John Henry, that signal intellectual seriousness.
It’s also a transparent attempt to shore up the gatekeeping apparatus of traditional publishing and entertainment while Sanderson himself cashes checks from Apple TV for his upcoming Cosmere adaptation.
