Audio has been around since, I suppose, the spoken language. The difference now is distribution and availability. Audiobooks, podcasts, smart phones, voice controlled home speaker systems, connected cars, and who knows what will come next.
It's just so easy. It's probably harder to not do it.
A celebration of beginnings. The first chapter of a book is something so profound, so important, and so special that we need to celebrate.
My only concern with using dictation is how my mind, and how my imagination, will adjust to it.