I wasn't here when Medium started, but I would have to believe that human minds and hands created the initial directions and priorities for the platform and slowly turned these tasks over to the Algorithm. So as to be more efficient and cost effective and give the subscribers what they really want.

For me and I would think others as well, therein lies the problem. The AI will perpetuate and expand what "it" perceives to be the will of the readers. Meaning more Listicles, more, How I Made $10,000 on Medium, more How to write Titles That Pull Readers In, on and on.

This is why humans nowadays only have to travel 25 feet to run into a fast food restaurant - but have to gas up the car and bring plenty of water to find that great restaurant tucked away in the hills of Marin County.

The billion-burger places out there apparently represent what people want. But do they really? Do we want tacos that could probably survive a weeks stay in a glove box? Or french fries that taste sweeter than a glazed donut?

Medium needs less AI driven content appearing at our "door" and more options to seek out what we actually want to read. You can tell all of us, that , Hey there are 300,000 great stories just around the corner and to the left - but chances are about 98% of us will focus first on the 100 articles the AI posted right in front of us. And you guys know this.

If listicles and How To articles and Quote articles from Socrates to Larry Czonka bring in 10%, or 28% or 35% of the revenue to Medium (whatever the actual % is) it just seems unlikely that these will go away in the pursuit of greater quality content.

For me, I want prediction and transparency. If a great New Change is being implemented and it reduces views by 18% then tell us why. If the AI needs to be tweaked to increase revenue so Medium survives - figure out a suitable way to tell us - otherwise we'll only see our income drop by 43% and start thinking that the end is at hand.

Medium is a great place to visit and play in. There are wonderful writers to read and friends to be made from around the world. No place like it, that I'm aware of. Just keep us in the loop. It's hard to believe that the authors of the 1852 articles I've read over the last 2 years about dropping views and income all got it wrong. Sorry, Medium, but you did make those changes, didn't you?

We still love you - we just want to know what's actually happening. Cheers and thanks for the opportunity, Tony.