You Are Valuable Because You Exist. The Machine Is Not.

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Blinded By The Light – a “banger” in zoomer parlance – had just played on the local classic rock station when I heard it for the first time: Assurance that a robot was not determining what was being played for this radio audience, that an algorithm was not in charge. “Big 100,” the voice-over boomed, announcing the name of the D.C.-area station formerly known as Oldies 100, before Nirvana became classic rock for some reason. “One hundred percent human.” Support the reader-backed Bad Faith Times with $5 a month and join the Bad Faith Times discord channel. You can also subscribe for free . I’ve since heard variations of this anti-AI pronouncement on other local radio stations. Even the easy listening station is doing it. One station told listeners they could tell people were in charge of the music because there were still mistakes being made by imperfect deejays. “We still fuck up and that’s good” was the message. Another said something about a machine being unable to rock out. The message was clear in any case: The communal experience of listening to music over the radio had not been ceded to machines that don’t know shit about Manfred Mann’s Earth Band or what it’s like to be revved up like a deuce, things of that nature. The backlash to the AI industry’s assault on humanity – and the dominance of internet-connected life – isn’t tough to spot today. The radio is rejecting AI control; subway ads are offering ways to listen to music without the nuisance of your phone and all its dopamine-drenched distractions ; there are bars and restaurants in every major American city that ban phones for patrons and staff alike (”Life needs to be more like this.”); YouTube videos are showing folks how to get along with a humble flip phone; and social media users are staging online riots against AI-fueled tools. Read more at BadFaithTimes.com .