What kind of bizarre, new development is this…
By Shannon Connellan on May 21, 2026
Amazon plans to “turn your dinner table conversations into learning opportunities.” Seriously?
Credit: Thomas Fuller / SOPA Images / Shutterstock
It’s a podcast, but with two AI-generated hosts discussing last night’s game. Honestly, it’s appalling.
Alexa Podcasts, unveiled on Tuesday, is Amazon’s new initiative for Alexa+, the company’s revamped AI assistant. Marketed as “AI-generated audio episodes on any topic,” these offerings replace the need for an entire team of human podcast producers and hosts, using only artificial intelligence — “no documents or prep work needed.”
SEE ALSO: AI audiobooks are invading Libby. Here’s how I avoid them.
It’s essentially a Big Tech-fueled mountain of “podslop” or AI-generated podcasts, which are rising along with other AI audio formats. A recent analysis by The Podcast Index found that 39% of recently uploaded podcasts were likely AI-generated, with companies like Inception Point AI creating them.
Now, Amazon is diving into this trend with Alexa Podcasts. Prime members can prompt the AI assistant to explore any subject, from news summaries to sports scores to movie review summaries, “allowing you to modify the length and direction conversationally.” Users can select the AI assistant’s personality — options include “Alexa, Brief, Sweet, Chill, and Sassy” — and its “conversation style” — ranging from concise and efficient to warm and conversational.
Then, Alexa will create a brief episode with two AI hosts, sent to your Echo device and the Alexa app.
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Without a team of human researchers, where does this valuable information originate? According to Amazon, over 200 news publications have signed on as sources, including local U.S. newspapers and others like “Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, TIME, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, USA Today, and publications from Condé Nast, Hearst, and Vox.” Impressive.
Everything about this makes me want to abandon my tech, especially when you listen to Amazon’s examples on Soundcloud (yes, Soundcloud!). Why listen to meticulously researched historical podcasts like Greg Jenner’s You’re Dead to Me and Marc Fennell’s Stuff The British Stole when you can have two AI voices spouting generic Ancient Roman facts? Who needs groundbreaking investigative journalism during such convenient times? Why listen to music historians like Cole Cuchna on Dissect when an AI can tell you what’s good? Why hear actual athletes and sports commentators analyze the game when it can be generated?
I tune into podcasts for the hosts, whose unique personalities and production teams can’t be replicated by Alexa’s “Sassy conversational” or “Brief efficient” settings — Ira Glass, Trixie and Katya; Hrishikesh Hirway; Kid Fury and Crissle West; Monét X Change and Bob the Drag Queen; Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang; Kara Swisher; Taylor Lorenz; Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad; Keke Palmer; Amy Poehler; Jon Lovett; Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon; Richard Osman and Marina Hyde; Louis Virtel, and many more. Not to mention the numerous human-led news teams producing daily news podcasts from the BBC to CNN, and my colleagues at Mashable pouring their creativity and energy into the craft.
With platforms like Spotify and Libby already feeling the impact of AI-generated music and audiobooks, are podcasters next to be replaced by two AI chatbots chatting away? I’m not interested in Amazon’s suggestion to “turn your dinner table conversations into learning opportunities.” Are we supposed to gather around Alexa for an AI-generated podcast on the Apollo 11 mission? Count me out.