> Spotify sees us like a data structure when it tries to play music it thinks we will like based on the likes of people who like some of the same music we like.
I see how data structures figure into the implementation, but it's also easy to see how "music recommendations crowdsourced from people with similar taste" is a desirable goal. I'd assume that Spotify had to "restructure" its data to get this to provide better recommendations and run more efficiently.
I think you'd have a much easier time selling the dystopian/soulless vibe looking at Pandora and their Music Genome Project [0] (even if it actually provides really good recommendations, in my experience anyway).
Other examples I just don't see where the data structure is. "Thai Food Near Me" is SEO-optimized or whatever, but in the end it's just a catchy name, not really materially different from calling your shop "World's Best Cup of Coffee".