Hello EIChloe Sevignys, this week, one of the big cultural talking points is: can AI ever replicate taste, and should we all be actively protecting our own, regardless of how good or bad it is?
In March, Kyle Chayka wrote a piece for The New Yorker titled: Why Tech Bros Are Now Obsessed with Taste. In it, he quoted several key tech figures who present taste as the final frontier for AI tech bros - almost like the one human trait they’re finding impossible to replicate.
In May, Trend forecaster and founder of the strategy firm Nemesis Global, Emily Segal, coined the term “tasteslop” to describe the repetitive, recycled visuals littering the internet that feel devoid of any human point of view, almost like gorgeous blandness. Lots of it, she points out, feels like this because it’s generated by AI and then replicated over and over.
And of course, last week, Polyester released ‘The Polyester Book of Bad Taste’, a collection of essays edited by its editor-in-chief Ione Gamble. The book is described as an antidote to ever-creeping homogeneity and bland tastefulness. “In a world constantly vying for our attention, having faith in your own (bad) taste is more than a small subversion – it's a rallying cry to live our lives unapologetically.”
We talk all things taste, with your help! Thank you so much for all of your takes on this topic we love being in conversation with you all! O, R, B xx
The Polyester Book of (Bad) Taste
TASTESLOP: Notes on technological anxiety