Stephen Colbert’s theory of entertainment is powerful: what people most want is not to be alone. Comedy, for him, is not about breaking news or reframing debates. It’s about curating the same day the audience just lived through and sharing an emotional reaction to it. The show, at its best, becomes a “third space” where people feel less isolated. In fact, having a live audience was a key reason Stephen decided to take The Late Show with Stephen Colbert desk almost a decade ago.
Stephen and I have gone back and forth about what the AI world will look like. One thing we agree on is that AI won’t replace artists any time soon. He’s not hostile towards the technology, but he wonders if AI will always lack what he calls a “micronutrient of human exchange.” Just as processed food can be fortified with vitamins yet still leave us malnourished, machine-generated performances may miss the flawed, risky, judgment-laden texture of human presence.
A great entertainer is just trying to hang out. To be the friend who won’t shut up, but who keeps you company over the long haul. In Colbert’s view, AI will tempt us with the thrill of personalized stories and infinite companions. But discovery, Colbert argues, is always richer. Discovery comes from venturing beyond yourself, into the unpredictable, uncomfortable space of other minds and other worlds. Invention reflects back what you already know; discovery changes you.
Stephen and I are both long-time fans of Tolkien, the author known most for Lord of the Rings. The relationship Stephen has with Tolkien is astonishing, not only in his ability to quote full excerpts from LOTR, but also in his skill in extracting the themes most resonant and clarifying for all of us. For example, Stephen noted that Tolkien’s mythos is full of characters undone by their own inventions. The Elf Fëanor, who forged the Silmarils, refuses to break the legendary, indestructible gems to save the world’s light. All of us, like the Tolkien character, can love “too well the work of our own hands,” as Colbert puts it. Galadriel, by contrast, passes her test by refusing the Ring’s power, choosing diminishment and stewardship over domination. For Colbert, Tolkien’s warning is clear: the danger is not creation itself, but elevating our creations over the state of the natural world.
The lesson here is not to reject AI, but to remember its role. It can amplify, extend, democratize access, but the final mile of meaning will always belong to humans in connection with one another. That, too, is a vision of progress. If AI is to serve us, it should be judged not by how well it imitates but by how much more room it makes for us to do the one thing we most want: not be alone.
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