Introducing “The Ring Writer,” a podcast from the Wraith Land blog that focuses on the intersection of J.R.R. Tolkien, technology and mythology. Each episode, we will connect the dots from the past, present and future.
This first episode is about two hours. We introduce our mission and discuss our own common ground around Tolkien and his works. We also revisit the first episode of the first season of Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power, debate its merits, and most importantly, dive deeply into the recent turmoil at OpenAI through the lens of Tolkien.
We recorded the episode on November 20th, the Monday following the upheaval that hit the news around OpenAI’s power struggles the Friday before, on November 17th. We focus on the more timeless aspects of the event.
This being our first podcast, the sound quality is not at 100% fidelity quite yet. Also, while we explore Tolkien’s theme of the Machine, we actually consult the Machine itself (ChatGPT) for some answers and oracular fun.
One of our prompts or “spells” was actually to get back a retelling of Tolkien’s most famous story in a more general form of OpenAI’s own drama. We did not include this response in the podcast, but you can find it at Wraith Land on Substack here.
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: OpenAI and the Tolkien Context (1:50)
Chapter Three: Our Peter Jackson Experience and Fellowship (19:00)
Chapter Four: Revisiting the Seen and Unseen in The Rings of Power (39:00)
Chapter Five: Going into “A Shadow from the Past” and the Machine (50:40)
Chapter Six: OpenAI and Echoes from the Past, Present and Future (1:29:30)
Theme Song: Eastern Sun & John Kelley’s “Days Gone By”
Email us at wraithlandpodcast@gmail.com
Hosts: T.Q. Kelley & S.T. Levine (Olorindil)
OpenAI and Tolkien - Of Rings and Robots