Episode

Can Silicon Valley give AI good taste?

Podcast: Marketplace Tech
Published: Aug 13, 2026
Duration seconds: 527
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Canonical source: https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2026/08/13/can-silicon-valley-give-ai-good-taste
Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/VnCzW2iO9G8z4eDWfXCd/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/marketplace/tech_report/2026/08/13/tech_20260813_0813_MP_TECH_pod_128.mp3?awCollectionId=mkp-MKPtech&awEpisodeId=01KZPN4FV33RSK9A7EPBTRARWM
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Summary

Generative AI models can produce enormous volumes of text, images and video in seconds. But without expert human instruction, the output is often generic. (You might say slop.) A number of startups in Silicon Valley are on a mission to change that by giving AI a more human sense of taste. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with critic and journalist Sophie Haigney about what taste is and whether artificial intelligence can truly replicate it.