Industry-trained taste becomes involuntary habit mistaken for natural spontaneity

Evidence

In the past, young people sought guidance from elders who recommended art, books, and music to expand their horizons. Blogger Matthew Yglesias noted that these recommendations often came with an implicit promise: “Given my understanding of your interests, my belief is that reading this book will help you become a better version of yourself.” By contrast, algorithms served up the most broadly appealing content, reinforcing the most common part of users’ existing tastes rather than challenging them. For all the early promises of “personalization,” algorithmic sites pushed most users into a homogenized experience, contributing to the growing sense of a stagnant monoculture. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 709 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Rival publications had already gone full poptimist long before. As cultural historian Saul Austerlitz noted in 2014, The New Yorker praised Britney Spears’s comeback album, and Slate’s annual Music Club devoted most of its essays to Billboard Hot 100 artists. “Obsessive coverage of stars like Drake and Justin Bieber,” Austerlitz explained, “drives Web traffic in a way that more judicious, varied coverage of the likes of, say, the Tuareg guitar wizard Bombino generally cannot.” Critics once understood their role as teaching young devotees about good taste, but this no longer made sense when no one wanted to be a pupil. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 528 (#expands, via linked claim)

I did this for a week and, boy, did I eat some basic stuff. — Joanna Stern, I Am Not a Robot- My Year Using AI to…, 336 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Algorithms reinforce existing tastes rather than challenging or expanding them — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 709; AI meal preparation leads to uninspired eating habits. — Joanna Stern, I Am Not a Robot- My Year Using AI to…, 336; Traffic-driven poptimism replaced critics’ role of teaching taste — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 528 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Algorithms reinforce existing tastes rather than challenging or expanding them #complicates (0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 709
• AI meal preparation leads to uninspired eating habits. #qualifies (0.75) — Joanna Stern, I Am Not a Robot- My Year Using AI to…, 336
• Traffic-driven poptimism replaced critics’ role of teaching taste #expands (0.75) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 528