Spotify is building on its AI DJ feature, adding a new AI-powered playlist feature. No, it’s not just asking Spotify to spit out, say, 2010s metalcore classics, but rather something more along the lines of “my dog is sad and I love the color purple, if he please make me a list of songs.“ kind of thing. You can request it and Spotify will offer you a list of songs. How far you can push it remains to be seen, but I plan to test out its guardrails when I get the chance.
Spotify’s AI work fits into its other efforts to differentiate its service from competitors like Apple Music and offerings from Amazon. The European tech giant has also branched into audiobooks, podcasting and even edtech in recent years.
Launching in just a few countries, the new AI playlist feature will roll out to more markets over time. It’s unclear how long it will take to reach your hands, if you, like me, are not located in the feature’s launch countries. It’s worth noting that some Spotify users have complained that rolling out new products can take longer than expected to reach their home market.
The AI wave sweeping the music world hasn’t yet made art obsolete, but it seems to be struggling to find a place in the way we discover and consume art itself. It might be a good working compromise.
You might be a little tired of hearing about AI all day, every day. Not that there’s anything wrong with AI news per se; Many technology companies are working hard to integrate new AI technologies into their products and services. At the very least, it’s a big business story. Then there is the consumer angle, where AI comes closer to our daily lives. But for those of us who aren’t mega-ChatGPT users, AI may seem slightly removed from our usual existence. Tools like Spotify’s latest can further integrate AI into the way we do our usual, mundane tasks, like queuing up new music. Or not-so-new tunes, at least according to some users who view Spotify’s playlist as working as part of a recurring effort to promote the same songs over and over again.
Press play, let’s have fun!
techcrunch
