Bad things happen when we let robots decide what’s good

The "crisis of taste" stems from a fundamental shift in media production, where tech companies have replaced human-curated culture with algorithmic feeds designed to maximize data extraction rather than creative expression. This transition forces a race to the bottom, as corporations prioritize cost-cutting automation over the messy, collaborative process of human artistry. The South Korean Starbucks "Tank Day" incident serves as a stark example of the dangers inherent in outsourcing creative decisions to AI, which lacks the cultural context to avoid catastrophic branding errors. Furthermore, the reliance on AI-generated content and the rise of "sloptions"—where every available media choice is low-quality, automated trash—threaten to eliminate the role of human arbiters of culture. Ultimately, the pursuit of short-term efficiency and valuation over genuine human connection has rendered modern creative environments increasingly inhospitable to authentic, high-quality work.