PODCAST: AI vs. Inspiration—Marian Bantjes
Thu Jan 29 2026
Generative AI has made a lot of creatives nervous, not just about jobs, but about individual expression.
Marian Bantjes isn’t new to this kind of disruption. As an artist, illustrator, designer, and writer, her work has always pushed against polish, taste, and convention. If you know her book I Wonder, you know her voice is unmistakable.
What interested me most is that Marian began experimenting with generative AI early, back in 2023, before it became slick or predictable. Instead of being overtaken by the tool, she treated it the way she treats any material: critically, playfully, and with intent.
We talk about kitsch, hallucination, repetition, and failure, and why early AI’s weirdness mattered. We talk about what AI can generate, and what it still can’t do: make lateral leaps, form nuanced metaphors, or replace lived experience.
This is a conversation about where ideas come from, and why strong creative voices don’t disappear when new tools arrive.
If you’re trying to figure out how to work with AI without losing yourself in the process, this episode is for you.
Links to stuff we talk about:
* marianbantjes.com [Personal website; Design Art Gallery]
* AI: Part 1 [Substack, Marian Bantjes]
* Jonathan Hoefler [Typographer]
* Rodney Brooks [Roboticist]
* Douglas Coupland [Artist]
* Stuart Semple [Black 2.0 paint]
* Edel Rodriguez [Illustrator]
Subscribe to support THE GRAIN
Listen, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation we need to be having about the pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity.
You can watch this and other video episodes of THE GRAIN Podcast on YouTube.
Subscribe to THE GRAIN Newsletter, for deep dives on how AI is impacting creative industries right now.
Read more about THE GRAIN and our upcoming live events at thegrain.ai Reach me at ronit@thegrain.ai Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok
Get full access to THE GRAIN with Ronit Novak at thegrainai.substack.com/subscribe
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Generative AI has made a lot of creatives nervous, not just about jobs, but about individual expression. Marian Bantjes isn’t new to this kind of disruption. As an artist, illustrator, designer, and writer, her work has always pushed against polish, taste, and convention. If you know her book I Wonder, you know her voice is unmistakable. What interested me most is that Marian began experimenting with generative AI early, back in 2023, before it became slick or predictable. Instead of being overtaken by the tool, she treated it the way she treats any material: critically, playfully, and with intent. We talk about kitsch, hallucination, repetition, and failure, and why early AI’s weirdness mattered. We talk about what AI can generate, and what it still can’t do: make lateral leaps, form nuanced metaphors, or replace lived experience. This is a conversation about where ideas come from, and why strong creative voices don’t disappear when new tools arrive. If you’re trying to figure out how to work with AI without losing yourself in the process, this episode is for you. Links to stuff we talk about: * marianbantjes.com [Personal website; Design Art Gallery] * AI: Part 1 [Substack, Marian Bantjes] * Jonathan Hoefler [Typographer] * Rodney Brooks [Roboticist] * Douglas Coupland [Artist] * Stuart Semple [Black 2.0 paint] * Edel Rodriguez [Illustrator] Subscribe to support THE GRAIN Listen, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation we need to be having about the pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity. You can watch this and other video episodes of THE GRAIN Podcast on YouTube. Subscribe to THE GRAIN Newsletter, for deep dives on how AI is impacting creative industries right now. Read more about THE GRAIN and our upcoming live events at thegrain.ai Reach me at ronit@thegrain.ai Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok Get full access to THE GRAIN with Ronit Novak at thegrainai.substack.com/subscribe