I listen to podcasts all the time, and I bet you do, too. And the allure of podcasts is that you hear someone or a group of people talking about something you love or find interesting.
It’s the human connection.
But why wait for your favorite podcasters to publish the next episode when a startup can push thousands of new podcasts to your list in the blink of an eye? That’s what Inception Point AI is attempting to do with the launch of more than 5,000 AI-powered podcasts that are already filling up your “next up” list—and you’re probably not even aware you’re listening to something completely fake.
The podcast you’re listening to isn’t human
We knew this would happen eventually
Lurking in the background of every single podcast app is Inception Point AI’s Quiet Place Podcast Network, with more than 5,000 shows that churn out more than 3,000 episodes per week—all powered by AI personalities created to suit specific areas of expertise.
For example, there is Nigel Thistledown, the “Tweed-wearing garden wizard creating whimsical landscapes,” or Penny Power, who is “helping Dollar Dreamers grow” and is an “AI money guide for real life.” Best of all? These “personalities” have Instagram accounts to add some real-world flavor to these AI creations. You can see what good old Nigel has been up to below. It’s sparse, but it helps to build the image and contains a useful link back to the podcast (his podcast? feels odd to say that!).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Quiet Place Podcast Network has racked up an astonishing 10 million downloads since September 2023. Furthermore, with development and recording costs next to nothing, it’s estimated that Inception Point AI needs just 20 listens to break even on each podcast created. And with so many AI podcasts being churned out each week, it seems unfathomable that some of them aren’t hitting significantly bigger numbers than that paltry figure.
However, according to the company, no one is drawing a salary yet, but it is going to seek outside funding in the near future. It promises one of the biggest unicorns for any growing business: near infinite growth with minimal overhead. But even then, if they don’t get the listeners, it’s all for naught anyway.
AI-podcasts aren’t coming to replace human-created content
At least, not yet
Inception Point AI doesn’t see its AI podcast network as a replacement for human creators and podcast hosts. Josh Taylor, co-founder and chief production officer, thinks, “It exists alongside it, and it can delve into areas where human hosts might not want to go that deep.”
It also doesn’t attempt to hide the fact that its hosts are AI. Listening to the aforementioned Pennie Power’s podcast, the whole intro is dedicated to explaining why, as an AI, it has specific value in analyzing financial information and side-hustle culture without the emotional investment in ideas or otherwise.
Bloom and Banter with Nigel Thistledown was similar. Some bloom, zero banter. Or how about “the charismatic Jack Maddox,” an AI host that begins its first podcast titled The Ides of March by describing how it misses Rome, Italy. It’s just nonsense.
However, other Inception Point AI podcasts I listened to didn’t have any such indication that it was an AI host, or that the entire script was generated by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.
There are certainly signs that AI podcast hosts and shows could slot into the general podcasting sphere. I took a listen to some of Inception Point AI’s podcasts, and I wasn’t blown away by what I heard.
It’s just read from a long script without any deviation, intonation, surprise, or otherwise. It sounds plain and dull, and is (as the AI says) without emotion. And that really is the problem; without the human connection to the podcast, what’s the point in listening?
Even the AI sounded bored repeating the script it was fed to create the podcast. With fake backgrounds and scripts that clearly haven’t been checked to remove “human” elements, some of the podcasts are a difficult listen.
I’m skipping AI podcasts
Humans are clearly better
Now, whether that means Inception Point AI CEO Jeanine Wright would call me a “luddite,” a term she previously used to describe those against so-called AI slopt, my stance on this is clear.
I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated content as AI slop are probably lazy luddites. Because there’s a lot of really good stuff out there.
I don’t want my podcast feed flooded with 3,000 podcasts per week of this generic, algorithm-generated “content.” I can’t believe that anyone who really loves podcasts or follows specific shows does either. So, like most of the AI boom, it’s another bit of AI foisted upon us in the name of progress.
Give me a human any day.
