Spotify Launch AI DJ

The next step in Spotify's ongoing effort to "personalize" our listening experiences is AI DJ. The AI DJ compiles a stream of songs it believes I'll like based on my listening history, much like its Discover Weekly new music playlist or its end-of-year Wrapped summary. Together with the music, there are interludes of "commentary" that are provided by a male Artificial voice. This voice has the strained warmth of an overly committed guidance counselor from a high school.

You may already be aware of the functionality since it is now being pushed out to Spotify users. It was created using OpenAI, a chatbot renowned for its very human - and sometimes downright scary - replies, like pretty much everything this year. Since they are the ones who compose the interesting details the voice provides you with every few songs, Spotify music editors also help the feature. According to a press release, "With new generative AI technology, our editors are able to expand their intrinsic knowledge in ways never previously feasible.

When I flick through the next tracks, Television's Marquee Moon, The Slits' Typical Girls, and Jimmy Eat World's The Middle, the voice adds, "Let's keep this feeling going. I discover how awesome dad's robot is.

The honey-voiced host of my listening session is based on a real person, Xavier "X" Jernigan, although he is not the honey-voiced host himself. The Get Up, a daily morning program on pop culture that also provides listeners with a "tailored playlist," is hosted by the head of Spotify's cultural partnerships.

In a press statement from Spotify, it was said that "[Jernigan's] demeanor and voice connected with our audience" enough for him to be hired as the "first model for the DJ". But, the company warned that additional choices may be added later.

Even though the voice had a stalker-like quality to it, I enjoyed it. It sort of threatened me, saying, "I'll be here every day because I know what you listen to. And the amount of information the AI DJ has on me is a bit unsettling.

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By pressing a button, a "look back at 2018" is started, but not the music that were released that year, but rather the songs I listened to. Three Celine Dion songs that I played endlessly during a very self-indulgent period of my life begin to play loudly. It changes to my "favorite summer songs" from previous years when I get a weather notice about an impending snowfall.

Has this been "personalized"? The AI DJ seemed to be playing primarily songs I'd already heard rather than choosing them from its digital crystal ball of predictions, in my opinion. Moreover, it was content to provide playlists of indie and R&B music that looked to promote fresh releases and were purportedly "selected particularly for me" by its editors.

It's difficult to envision precisely who this functionality is for. The app is marketed in its advertising ads as a kind of customized crate-digger that serves comments and deep cuts. Nonetheless, I anticipate that individuals seeking human curation will continue to tune in to, uh, real radio (or maybe competitor Apple Music's version of "curated" services, which uses industry leaders like Ebro Darden, Zane Lowe, and Elton John as an alternative to algorithms).

The AI DJ mostly seeks to win my favor. To change the genre, I press a button, and a friendly "Not into it? I have you. As I do with the FM station in my vehicle, there is no waiting for a song I like to join the rotation. It's simple to do. But, the AI DJ gradually stops speaking to me after a while. Shortly, it will just inform me of the musician that is scheduled. I ponder why I even need it.

I realize I'm just listening to my most-played songs after 30 minutes. I've heard each one many times. I stop listening to the AI DJ and go find a new record that I haven't heard yet.