Featured on CzechCrunch: Talking with Leoš Kyša About AI, Writing, and How It Changes the Way We Think
An article about us appeared on CzechCrunch, one of the most influential Czech media outlets covering startups, technology and the digital economy. With writer Leoš Kyša I spoke about how we think about AI — not just as a technology, but as a tool that changes the way we think, create and decide. Maybe an 'uncomfortable' point of view, but all the more reason to read it.
A new feature about us is out on CzechCrunch 👇
Together with Czech writer Leoš Kyša we talked about how we think about AI — not just as a technology, but as a tool that changes the way we think, create and make decisions.
It might be an "uncomfortable" view, but that's exactly why it's worth reading 🙂
Where it appeared and who's covering us
CzechCrunch is one of the most influential Czech online magazines covering business, technology, startups and the digital economy — the kind of media whose article half of the country's CEOs, investors and founders read the next morning. If your project shows up there, it's seen by the audience that matters.
The article was published on 26 April 2026 by reporter Michaela Prešinská — under the bold headline "AI critics are like the villagers who tore down Diviš's lightning rod. Let it scold you, advises a Czech writer."
What we talked about with Leoš
Writer and author of dozens of novels and short-story collections, Leoš Kyša is one of the most courageous Czech literary users of AI. Instead of fearing or rejecting it, he treats it as a second editor, critic, and creative partner — and he doesn't shy away from colourful comparisons:
"The anxiety today's writers feel about AI reminds me of the unhappy villagers who tore down Prokop Diviš's lightning rod from the church."
— Leoš Kyša, CzechCrunch
And on whether AI will replace writers:
"AI won't write your novel — it simply can't yet. But it can nudge you in the right direction."
— Leoš Kyša
Leoš let an AI agent grade one of his manuscripts — and took its surprisingly tough feedback seriously:
"That AI agent gave me 65 out of 100…"
— Leoš Kyša
On whether AI is "stealing" authors' styles, he didn't shy from a wink:
"If AI is going to learn anything about demons and sex, it might as well learn it from me."
— Leoš Kyša
And a more serious moment — on why AI shouldn't be demonised:
"People copy from each other all the time. AI just works the same way our brains do."
— Leoš Kyša
What we added from our side
From Alpha Industries I brought a perspective on why AI works differently in writing than in most other creative crafts. The key is that authors and readers don't experience the same text in the same way:
"An author's brain knows it's making things up, so it lets the details drop. The reader, however, experiences the text as reality — and that's where AI helps reveal what's missing, what doesn't fit, what knocks the reader out of the story."
— Jan Tyl, Alpha Industries
And on how AI is changing the role of the author itself:
"You can have the system write a bank-robbery scene from the perspective of a retired police officer, then from the eyes of a romance novelist. Suddenly you see the same scene through three different heads — and you, as the author, choose what really has value."
— Jan Tyl
The main thought we take away
What Leoš and I keep arriving at is one simple thesis:
AI is not the magic "write me a book" button. It's a tool that turns authors into something closer to directors — and turns each of us into someone who has to learn to ask better questions.
That's the whole trick. AI won't change the world by writing things for you. It will change it by showing you your own text from an angle you'd never have seen yourself.
📖 Read the full article on CzechCrunch: AI critics are like the villagers who tore down Diviš's lightning rod
Photos: Thomas Habr / CzechCrunch · Article by: Michaela Prešinská · Published 26 April 2026.
#CzechCrunch #LeosKysa #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Writing #Creativity #Alphai