A quote for July 2026.

Written By Libby Hart

What is it to be a creature of time? It is patience, rhythm, renewal, decline. It is bearing witness to entropy in the mirror. The AI never has to do this: age will not weary it, unless its makers decide otherwise.

But perhaps, in such a context, ageing assumes a new meaning. I age, therefore I am. We are transient beings, ephemeral as music. Might there be some value – or even beauty – in this?

—Anna Goldsworthy

‘The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence’, Quarterly Essay, Issue 102 (2026).

Photography by Truong Tuyet Ly.

Libby Hart

Libby Hart is an Australian poet who writes about the living world and the human experience. Her books include Burn, Wild, This Floating World and Fresh News from the Arctic. She is the editor of My Name Suspended in the Air, a centenary celebration of the Irish writer, Leland Bardwell.

https://libbyhartpoet.com
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