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This headline smacks of fear mongering. Privacy TERRORS. ALGORITHMS! Walking, talking murder bots! Seriously? Please. If you pay for your streaming service, yo

This headline smacks of fear mongering. Privacy TERRORS. ALGORITHMS! Walking, talking murder bots! Seriously? Please. If you pay for your streaming service, you don't have ads. Privacy concerns are an abstract existential concern that don't have practical effects at least in the context of music streaming. And algorithms? I don't understand what the fear is here. Just a general anti-technology sentiment? Why not make a playlist of your own or simply listen to and album from beginning to end? Maybe we've lost a little something moving into the realm of the purely digital, but that is the essence of change. It involves tradeoffs. And change is inevitable. Face change with courage - not by dearly holding onto everything that was.

mrfredward 7y ago
I agree with everything you just said, but I want to add a counterpoint. About a year ago, YouTube Music started playing ads for depression medication for me constantly. My music choice is...err...not particularly happy most of the time. I actually first noticed the ad after listening to a song called "Happy Pills." I have no evidence that I was profiled based on my music choice aside from this one coincidence, but it was enough to make me question if I want Google to know everything I listen to. Music gives insight into the emotional state of a person, so it could become a very real privacy concern, if it isn't being exploited already.
- andai 7y ago
  My phone has this feature where it periodically checks if I'm still looking at it, to turn off the screen if I'm not. It doesn't take the opportunity to spy on my facial expression, but I reckon it won't be long.
godshatter 7y ago
Some of us care about privacy. "Privacy terrors" is granted a bit extreme. I differ from the author in that I prefer to listen to random songs from my collection of curated favorites that I have built up over the years rather than listen to individual cds. I've tried streaming services and that whole paradigm is just not what I want. I prefer to know that the next song is one I want to listen to, and I'm OK with not randomly finding that the next song is a new favorite. I have other ways I discover music. I prefer to control the music files I listen to and don't trust the cloud to keep them safe. When I was younger I listened to cassette tapes and cds more than I listened to radio. Am I afraid of this new technological world? Well, no, probably not, since I've spent most of my spare time (and later, my work life as well) programming or otherwise interacting with computers since at least 1978 or so. People are different. It's a good thing.

mrfredward 7y ago

I agree with everything you just said, but I want to add a counterpoint. About a year ago, YouTube Music started playing ads for depression medication for me constantly. My music choice is...err...not particularly happy most of the time. I actually first noticed the ad after listening to a song called "Happy Pills." I have no evidence that I was profiled based on my music choice aside from this one coincidence, but it was enough to make me question if I want Google to know everything I listen to. Music gives insight into the emotional state of a person, so it could become a very real privacy concern, if it isn't being exploited already.

andai 7y ago
My phone has this feature where it periodically checks if I'm still looking at it, to turn off the screen if I'm not. It doesn't take the opportunity to spy on my facial expression, but I reckon it won't be long.

godshatter 7y ago

Some of us care about privacy. "Privacy terrors" is granted a bit extreme. I differ from the author in that I prefer to listen to random songs from my collection of curated favorites that I have built up over the years rather than listen to individual cds. I've tried streaming services and that whole paradigm is just not what I want. I prefer to know that the next song is one I want to listen to, and I'm OK with not randomly finding that the next song is a new favorite. I have other ways I discover music. I prefer to control the music files I listen to and don't trust the cloud to keep them safe. When I was younger I listened to cassette tapes and cds more than I listened to radio. Am I afraid of this new technological world? Well, no, probably not, since I've spent most of my spare time (and later, my work life as well) programming or otherwise interacting with computers since at least 1978 or so. People are different. It's a good thing.