You ever look yourself up?
Dear Google,
I looked myself up yesterday. I was asked how many songs I am on credits for, and I didn’t have a clue. I still don’t, but I feel good about myself. That counts for something. Right?
“Google, how many song credits am I on?” (Try it yourself, I bet it says something different.)
So it’s true, but..
All of the information in this AI answer is factual. I can’t deny I did all this stuff, even for some of the reasons it mentions. But it appears to me that it is tooting my horn. I think it gives the wrong impression of me. It probably says something different to someone else about me. I asked Keri to look it up, but since she is in the band too, we got similar. But our friend across town? “Kintner who?” This right here. This is what pisses me off. Information isn’t universal, it’s personal. This is why there’s a The Horse’s Mouth magazine.
Not mentioned, and worth mentioning..
The computer doesn’t mention I go long periods without making things at all. I can spend a full 6 months recharging my batteries. So while I may seem prolific over time, I am pretty slow on the day to day. I don’t mind. I am not trying to be prolific or quick. But you don’t get that impression here.
Another thing is MOST of the folks I have worked with no longer will speak to me. I don’t know why. It might be different strokes for different folks. Maybe someone got pissed about some bullshit I said. Maybe I was flippant about something that was important to someone. Maybe because I am bipolar and often “not myself,” they prefer to keep distance. Maybe they changed their mind about how something sounded and blame me for an error they hear. I have to guess, every time. They don’t tell me. But they ditch me. Could be them, could be me. Both. I don’t bust their balls about it. I am used to it. Maybe they don’t make music to make buddies, it’s fine. You see, I am happy about the time it lasted. Expecting forever is my fault, not theirs. No one gives you forever. They can’t. So I quit expecting it. That is a lot easier without computers, for some reason.
Google doesn’t tell you that I think musicians are badasses. I am trying to make friends with them. I don’t stand a chance with the “normies.” Just because we make a tune together doesn’t mean we are pals. But I wish it did. I like pals. I think life is much easier with a handful of friends.
So while I may be successful at recording music with other indies, I suck at making friends. I think if google wanted to be truthful with me here, it might have mentioned something along those lines. It was more interested in writing my resumé than giving me anything I could use. I don’t need a resumé for the music, folks can just hit play.
What does this mean when you multiply it times billions?
Multiply this times billions. You ever hear the term, “a legend in their own mind?” This mindset is being nurtured by google and other aggregators, AI’s, data contractors, social media.. I mean hell, it is basically how computing works. Fluff ‘em up, keep them logged in.
“Are you just kissing my ass right now?” – needs to be in everyone’s vocabulary.
I urge you to practice recognition of folks kissing your ass. It’s nothing personal, it is just the way things are these days. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, it has to do with computers and folks trained in thinking that’s what they have to do. AI does it. AI teaches it. But I can’t stand it. There’s no depth, honesty, or connections in it. There’s protocol. That’s for robots, not me. But you do you.
If you are traded by the public, I expect you not to want to decimate it.
I think publicly traded companies have an obligation to serve the public, but I must be alone here. No one else thinks that. Folks think publicly traded companies serve the individual, so they need AI customizing the information they receive individually. Information should be the same for everyone, shouldn’t it? If a rich person has better access to information than a poor person does, that’s discrimination. It’s not all access. Not “public.”
But the kissing ass thing. .. This has direct negative impact on personality, worldview, mental health, and folks just do it. I am certain many folks don’t even know when their ass is being kissed. It’s everyday. They may not even know when they are kissing ass. I don’t know, but I suspect with some people.
Sometimes, when folks ditch me, I know it is because they command some kind of ass-kissing they have been trained to receive. It makes them lonely when they don’t get it and they ditch me. Then they release songs about being lonely with AI lyrics. It’s happened more than once. It isn’t every time, but it damn sure is sometimes. Stop the madness.
Honesty, integrity, concern. Those are pillars to good human relations, historically. I think now it’s different. I think now it’s a “grab what you can while you can” society. Almost like a riot, looting. Someone may help you toss a couch through a storefront window, but it isn’t the same thing as a friend. You are mutual opportunists. It isn’t even a friendly environment. But if everyone is kissing everyone’s ass, how can you tell?
Kelly Kintner