AIs are taking over tech at the moment. They’re no longer just an assistant in our phones and smart speakers and, after making search engines talkative' and winning photography competitions, they’re going to be Spotify DJs now, too.
Spotify – one of the world’s best music streaming services – has just unveiled its new OpenAI tech-powered DJ feature (the same team behind ChatGPT) that will act like the real thing , albeit with your own personalized playlist.
Premium subscribers in the US and Canada (using Spotify on their Android or iOS devices) should now be able to see the DJ card in their Music Feed. If you can’t right now, you may have to wait a day or two for the update to roll out. Once it's there, tap on this option and the DJ AI will then start playing tracks based on the music you normally like. What’s more, it’ll provide short commentary between the songs just like a proper radio host.
The DJ’s voice is modeled on that of Xavier ‘X' Jernigan – the host of Spotify’s morning show The Get Up – though Spotify calls this the “first model”, suggesting other AI hosts (perhaps with their own unique styles) will launch in the future.
As seen in the trailer above, the AI comments on why it has chosen certain songs – such as saying it’s returning to the music you “had on a lot back in 2018” – though it’ll apparently be able to comment on if a track is recently released and give you facts about the artist (with the help of expertise provided by Spotify’s human editors). And, if you don’t like the AI’s vibe, you can press the DJ icon at the bottom right of the screen to try something different.
This feature looks really neat and, if the AI voice sounds as realistic in real life as it does in the trailer, it could make for an interesting way to enjoy your Spotify library. It should also be a good way to discover new tracks, too, with the press release (opens in new tab) saying its DJ will help you find new tracks and artists that it thinks you’ll love.
DJ is currently only in beta – that’s why it has a limited release – so expect there to be some bugs here and there. Though as an Apple Music listener, this announcement has already convinced me to try Spotify so I can give DJ a go.
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