As an independent musician, I do not have an agent. I am, like many of the musicians I know, my own agent, my own manager, my own tour manager, my own roadie and my own driver. So I often find myself writing emails to people to solicit performances. It's a lot of work and every performance that I am able to get for me and my fellow musicians feels like a small victory. I celebrate my ability not only to earn money for myself, but also for the musicians who work with me.
I recently sent out an email to a clergy person for an Afro-Semitic Experience performance. It was, like all such emails that I send, informative, warm, and a little bit humorous. The response that I received, however, was not of those. I'm pasting it below because I found it so incredible that anyone, moreover a member of the clergy, would allow an email like this to be sent out on their behalf. As you may already have guessed, it was written by AI. I'm sharing it below without too much more comment, because it speaks for itself. It's such a demeaning message. I'm sure the clergy person who uses this tool has no idea how harshly this message feels when I read it:
Hey David,
The person you contacted uses HeyHelp, an AI assistant that filters, prioritizes, and replies to emails on their behalf.
Want to save an hour a day? Let HeyHelp handle your inbox.
Try it free *ed. note: this was a link to try this AI tool.
Your email was identified as a cold pitch and deprioritized. Further messages in this thread have been paused. The recipient may still review your message manually.
HeyHelp AI Assistant