How do recommendation algorithms affect our sense of taste?

There are few things more peculiar to a person than their preferences; why they favour one genre of music or one style of writing over another. And in our world of endless digital reproduction, we increasingly rely on recommendation algorithms to curate or triage our encounters with culture. But algorithms tend toward massification; they rule out the possibilities of both aesthetic achievement and sheer surprise.

An episode of the The Minefield podcast, hosted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation, titled "How do recommendation algorithms affect our sense of taste?" was published on December 24, 2025 and runs 54 minutes.

December 24, 2025 ·54m · The Minefield

Summary

There are few things more peculiar to a person than their preferences; why they favour one genre of music or one style of writing over another. And in our world of endless digital reproduction, we increasingly rely on recommendation algorithms to curate or triage our encounters with culture. But algorithms tend toward massification; they rule out the possibilities of both aesthetic achievement and sheer surprise.

Episode Description