Which Has Better Taste: A.I. or Humans?
5/20/202632 min
Silicon Valley wants to be the best tastemaker in town. Artificial intelligence is changing how we decide what to wear and read and how we interact with pop culture. The Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman talks to the New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka and the journalist and critic Sophie Haigney about the rise of “taste slop” and what happens to culture if the internet collapses into just a few chatbots that serve us everything.
Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.
This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishkaha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Jasmine Romero. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Video editing by Steph Khoury. The postproduction manager is Mike Puretz. Original music by Pat McCusker, Isaac Jones, Carole Sabouraud and Aman Sahota. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Video is Jonah M. Kessel. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Nadja Spiegelman· Host0:29
[instrumental music] This is The Opinions, a show that brings you a mix of voices from New York Times Opinion. You've heard the news. Here's what to make of it. [instrumental music] I'm Nadja Spiegelman, and I'm a culture editor for New York Times Opinion. There's something I just can't stop watching, Fruit Love Island.
Kyle Chayka· Guest0:58
Welcome to Fruit Love Island, where eight single fruits are about to flirt, fight, and trust.
Nadja Spiegelman· Host1:02
It's just an AI slop version of the reality television show, but with humanoid fruits dating around instead of real people.
Sophie Haigney· Guest1:09
Hi, I'm Pasiona. I'm twenty-three, a passion fruit from Massachusetts.
Speaker 11:13
I'm Limira. I'm a lime from Miami.
Nadja Spiegelman· Host1:16
And it's really bad, obviously. But there's something about it that just has me hooked, and I'm not alone. Fruit Love Island averaged over ten million views for each of its episodes.