Streaming service released “DJ X” made with artificial intelligence that suggests songs based on what you listen to and “talk” about musical choices
Spotify began on Tuesday (8) to release the beta of “DJ X”, a tool made with artificial intelligence that creates playlists, for 46 more countries, totaling 50 nations with the feature DJ X seems like a “modern” proposal, suggesting songs and telling the reason for the choices. But the tool’s advertisement basically shows Deezer’s Flow with a talking AI.
Following a growing brand of including an X in the name (see the social network formerly known as Twitter and Real Digital, dubbed Drex), Spotify has christened the DJ/artificial intelligence X. The lack of effort in thinking of a more creative name contrasts with the creativity of advertising an old feature as something innovative and with AI.
Spotify’s DJ is made with artificial intelligence, but what in fact is AI?
In the promotional video (see below) and in the publication on its official website, Spotify announces that DJ X is an “artificial intelligence guide that knows you and your musical taste that can choose what to play for you.” I believe everyone who’s used Deezer’s Flow or Spotify’s own radio stations has used “DJ” — come on, is it AI or the improved algorithm?
On Twitter, I mean, on X, there are some people reporting their experience with the recommendations of the DJ made with artificial intelligence. I don’t subscribe to Spotify — and the feature hasn’t even been released here — but among the praise and funny reports (I’ve already shown), DJ X feels like a revamp of the recommendation algorithm, adding to the playlist of “songs you missed” and a chatbot to explain the choice of music that will play — and with the errors of an AI.
In the example below, a user reports that “artificial intelligence” contextualized the year 2021 to play a song from the time. “Taking you to 2021, when Olivia Rodrigo and Round 6 were as big as this ‘banger’,” DJ X said before playing Chas & Dave’s hit “Ain’t No Pleasing You,” released on… 1982.
In another report, a Spotify subscriber comments on a situation that is very reminiscent of the problems of Flow, Deezer’s feature that is practically identical to the DJ, but does not speak. In the case below, the user praises the tool, but comments that it played ten songs from the musical Hamilton in a row – sometimes I listen to a little song by Shakira on my own and when I go to Flow, he throws me a sequence of songs in Spanish.
Spotify’s own announcement and reports on social media convey a sense that the term artificial intelligence was used more to “attract the audience” and sell as something innovative, not as a recommendation algorithm. And the strategy seems to be working. There are users declaring a willingness to test the feature.
