AI job-calypse and DJs

For those of who fearing that AI will take over your jobs, see no further than the DJ to take comfort.

I was at a club recently (Yes, I go there when people force me to) and there I am - trying to swallow my awkwardness as I remind myself of the way alcohol destroys your gut lining, letting bacteria enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation. But I am careful not to let these buzzkill thoughts out. Even if I did, no one would have heard me. Because of the DJ.

The DJ^ - the enigma, the disk jockey (discs - who uses them?!) whose only purpose at these events is to play the right tracks for the audience, ensure tracks transition smoothly, and vary volume from time to time. I am sure a mediocre piece of software could do the same. In fact, Spotify already can.

Yet, DJs exist. People flock around the DJ, dance with her, treat her like God. In fact, even if people murmur about the track, they never pass on this feedback to the DJ. I would bet that if a software were doing this, the club would be 10 times less fun. If I let an app control every part of the musical experience, and let the DJ just hand wave and pretend like she was responsible for it, people would still have fun and flock around her.

But remove the DJ, and the fun, the experience collapses. The human in the loop makes all the difference, and that perhaps should give you some hope.

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