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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Alaina Demopoulos

Last night AI DJ saved my life? Testing Spotify’s virtual radio host

hand holds phone showing green circle on blue background, from Spotify's DJ service
Spotify’s AI DJ is the next move in its bid to ‘personalize’ our listening experiences. Photograph: Spotify

I’m listening to Radiohead’s Creep on the radio. “You may not know this,” the DJ coos patronizingly, “but this song turns 30 this year.” So far, so titbit of trivia on FM drivetime. The only difference is this DJ is not a real person.

AI DJ is the next move in Spotify’s never-ending goal to “personalize” our listening experiences. Like its Discover Weekly new music playlist, or its end-of-year Wrapped recap, the AI DJ curates a stream of songs it thinks I’ll like based on my listening history. Along with the tunes, I get segues of “commentary” from a male AI voice, which bursts with the forced friendliness of an over-invested high school guidance counselor.

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