Reader, I hate this.
It is a podcast. Sort of.
It features two AI voices talking to each other about whatever topic you picked. Maybe the game last night. Maybe history.
Amazon announced Alexa Podcasts on Tuesday. It is part of Alexa+, the company’s rebooted virtual assistant. The pitch is simple: AI-generated audio on any topic. No documents needed. No prep. No humans.
Essentially, they replaced the production team with an algorithm.
“No documents or prep work needed.”
That quote sums up the horror.
This is podslop.
AI-generated sludge is already flooding the feeds. The Podcast Index analyzed recent uploads. They found that 39 percent were probably made using AI. Companies like Inception Point AI are churning it out.
Amazon just decided to join the pile.
Prime members can ask Alexa for news. Or sports results. Or movie consensus. You adjust the length conversationally. You pick the personality too. Brief. Sweet. Chill. Sassy.
The style shifts from “concise” to “warm and conversational.”
Alexa then generates a short episode. Two digital hosts talk at each other. It gets sent to your Echo or your phone app.
Where does the info come from?
Amazon claims over 200 publishers are sources. Local newspapers. Associated Press. Reuters. Washington Post. TIME. Forbes.
Cool cool cool.
I want to throw my device into the sea.
Have you listened to the examples? They are on SoundCloud. Of course they are on SoundCloud!
Why listen to Greg Jenner? Or Marc Fennell?
Those people did the research. They found the weird details about Ancient Rome. AI just regurgitates generic facts.
Who needs groundbreaking investigative journalism?
You want the lazy route. Fine.
Why learn from music historians like Cole Cuchina? AI will tell you if an album is “good.”
Why hear actual athletes analyze a play? AI can simulate that too.
I listen to hosts.
Their personalities matter. The chemistry cannot be coded.
Alexa has a “Sassy” setting. That is not the same as listening to Ira Glass. Or Trixie and Katya. Hrishikesh Hirway. Kid Fury. Kara Swisher. Taylor Lorenz.
There are countless humans doing the work. From BBC teams to my colleagues.
They put energy into it. Creativity. Life.
Spotify and Libby are already feeling the creep. AI music. AI audiobooks.
Now podcasts are just two chatbots arguing with each other.
Amazon suggests you “turn dinner table conversations into learning.”
Gathering round the speaker? For a lecture on Apollo 11 from a robot?
I’m out of here. 📢
