Bob Dylan’s fascination with new technologies is worthy of study. Nobody would have seen it coming. At the end of 2024, the American legend surprised his fans by shamelessly tweeting about ‘A Complete Stranger’ or his experiences in Prague. Now, he has created a Patreon where he publishes historical fanfics and cards invented with AI.
Like a kid excited about his new hobby, Dylan has published the poster announcing his new Patreon on all his social networks. “Lessons from the grave,” it reads. What is most striking about all this is that the legendary singer-songwriter has had absolutely no qualms about using AI in the creation of this poster as well. “The dead speak,” he points out.
Dylan’s experiments with artificial intelligence can be enjoyed for the modest price of 5 euros per month. It already has 1,300 members, so the bonus is already important. And what content does the renowned Nobel Prize-winning writer offer? Historical fanfics consisting of “letters never sent” and, be careful, “original short stories.” Written by Dylan!? No, “cured” by him. Everything indicates that it is an elegant way of saying that, once again, AI has had a hand.
At the moment, there are only six posts on the 84-year-old artist’s Patreon page. One is an embedded video of a performance by Mahalia Jackson. It is followed by three audio essays on former Vice President Aaron Burr, outlaw Frank James, and American folk hero Wild Bill. These vary in length, from 15 to 67 minutes; They are narrated in first person and yes, the voices are completely computer generated.
On the other hand, the ‘Letters Never Sent’ series has only one installment that includes what an epistolary conversation would be like between Mark Twain and the Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, who was 14 years old when Twain died in 1910. The post is not signed under his name, but under that of Herbert Foster. Most likely, this is also a name invented by Dylan to cover up the use of AI.
“I pick up the pen under circumstances that would confuse the calendar and embarrass the undertaker, as I am aware that we have both completed the respectable business of death,” the post reads.
The post that does harbor doubts regarding Dylan’s total authorship is the last one that has been uploaded to the web. It is a short story titled ‘Bull Rider’ and Marty Lombard appears as the supposed author. This is about a man who looks for a rodeo in Texas to try bull riding: “The bus coughed on me at some point past Amarillo, powder on my teeth and a sky that encompassed so much that it seemed like it was laughing at me,” the text begins.
There is no doubt that AI is behind most of Bob Dylan’s Patreon posts. What will be next? Can we expect Dylan experimenting with autotune? Opening TikTok? When is a live stream on Twitch? We will be waiting for you.
— Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) March 29, 2026
