Spotify, never one to miss a trend or a chance to create slightly unsettling virtual friends, has launched its new AI DJ in over 50 markets around the globe. This includes the UK and Ireland, where tea consumption is high and resistance to American accents is even higher. The AI DJ, which goes by the cheerful and mildly robotic name ‘X’, is designed to offer a personalized radio experience so tailored to your listening habits that it might accidentally reveal your deeply buried emo phase from 2007. Spotify claims it will curate music based on your recent activity and introduce tracks with commentary delivered in a voice so lifelike you’ll wonder whether you should offer it snacks.
Initially rolled out in the US and Canada back in February, the AI DJ has now graced the lives of European listeners with the sort of enthusiasm usually reserved for unsolicited group chats. According to Spotify, it uses OpenAI’s technology to generate commentary that sounds remarkably like a human DJ. It doesn’t just pick songs based on algorithms and vague vibes. No, it uses machine learning and Spotify’s noble storehouse of music knowledge to make selections that reflect who you are, who you were, and possibly who you tried briefly not to be in college.
Its voice is modeled on an actual human named Xavier “X” Jernigan, who was once the host of Spotify’s podcasts and is now presumably delighted to have his voice immortalized in AI form so it can introduce Coldplay songs to millions at strange hours. Spotify, in that special way tech companies have of being simultaneously helpful and vaguely creepy, says the more users interact with the DJ, the better it learns. Which is comforting only if you are fine with a robot understanding your guilty pleasure playlists better than your therapist does.
The AI DJ is currently available only to Premium subscribers, which means if you are listening for free you’ll have to settle for algorithms without the dulcet tones of synthetic Xavier to tell you which new indie band you’re supposed to like this week.
Because nothing says “the future of music” quite like a robot named X judging your love of Smash Mouth.