Sometimes, nobody understands you more than your favourite DJ. Whether it’s a pick-me-up after a gruelling day of work, the soundtrack to a wild night out, or some calming ambience, a well-curated playlist can be exactly what you need.
While it’s not exactly a pat on the shoulder, music is scientifically proven to help ease stress and increase levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain; simply put, a DJ’s intuition can feel like a micro-dose of therapy.
While this intuition is built up over years, Spotify is keen to prove that algorithms can match the insight and experience of even the most skilful DJ. First introduced to Premium members in the US and Canada in February 2023, Spotify’s DJ has slowly crept its way onto all of our devices.
While Spotify offers ample algorithmically generated playlists (such as Daily Mixes, Daylists, Artist Radios and more), the Spotify DJ feature aims to add a more personal touch. It promises to become ‘your own personal DJ’, even boasting its own host, Xavier, who pops in now and again to emulate the feeling of a live radio show.
On the surface, Spotify’s DJ is an intriguing addition to the streaming platform. Unlike Spotify’s other playlist options, it offers some semblance of user control; a DJ button allows you to switch things up in an instant. So, if you’re tired of hearing your “favourite summer jams” or a nostalgic burst of “the songs you were all over in 2023”, Xavier to pull the plug and spin something new.
In theory, it allow you to avoid tracks you’ve grown tired of – something Daily Mixes and Artist Radios suffer from, as they loop tracks you’ve already played to death.
That being said, Xavier is still bound by the algorithm. While Spotify’s DJ insists he’s “always on the lookout for new stuff,”, he’ll probably never play anything too different from what your data suggests you will enjoy. He’ll only “push your boundaries” to the extent of pre-determined stats; if your data suggests you’re a jazz enthusiast, Xavier will only play you a heavy metal track if 100 other jazz enthusiasts with a similar taste profile seemed to enjoy it. If a track has been skipped too many times by your musical peers, there’s no chance he’ll play it for you.
The phenomenon of algorithmic recommendation is hardly a new invention. The first example of it in practice was in 1994, when Upendra Shardanand and Pattie Maes designed Ringo, which aimed to provide ‘personalised recommendations for music albums and artists.’
As more data was put into the database, the database utilised ‘similarities between the tastes of different users to recommend (or advise against) items,’ aiming to provide an almost ‘word-of-mouth’ series of recommendations – but, rather than basing it solely on one person’s thoughts, it could tap into thousands of positive or negative responses.
Ringo’s original algorithm was designed to help people find what they would enjoy in a world of technological ‘information overload’ – and, nowadays, there’s more music to wade through than ever.
However, if Spotify’s AI-DJ is relying on said algorithms, it’s not exactly ‘your own personal DJ’ – it’s having a musical affair with thousands and thousands of other listeners who have a similar digital footprint.
As Kyle Chayka notes in his novel, Filterworld, this data-driven technology has essentially ‘flattened culture.’ Nowadays, our tastes are determined by ‘algorithmic gatekeepers’ that attempt to ‘homogenise’ our taste.
It provides us with what’s already popular, resulting in an “algorithmic feedback loop, in which what is popular becomes more popular,” leaving little room for new, more challenging content to gain traction.
That’s the key real difference between Spotify’s DJ and a living, breathing disc jockey; AI will never knock out a bold, unheard track. DJs regularly platform new artists, confident that it will be enjoyed due to their innate understanding of their audience.
And, even if the audience don’t love it initially, they’ll still give it a shot; you trust your DJ’s intuition, meaning you’re far more likely to trial run a different genre or tastebreaking track. On the flip side, Xavier literally gives you the option to tap out as soon as you get bored – and, realistically, Xavier’s algorithm will never present you with anything too challenging.
Of course, if Xavier played you a song with 0 listeners, it would be a sign of a massively flawed algorithm – the choice would be baseless and absolutely nonsensical. However, that’s where real DJs have the upper hand.
AI can’t develop its own personal taste; there’s no way for an AI to innately understand whether a track is worth your time if the data doesn’t suggest that’s the case. But a real DJ doesn’t need the approval of 1,000 other ears to confirm a track is good.
Redditors have already started to notice the drawbacks of Xavier. They’ve found that the AI-DJ is essentially a glorified shuffle, playing tracks you regularly listen to (because he knows you like them) and sprinkling in tunes that have won a pre-determined popularity contest.
Many have also noticed that the feature lacked this seemingly simple intuition; one user noted that their “sleep music” would often play in the midst of their normal daytime favourites. Others even complained that the DJ would sometimes repeat songs within the same listening session.
Considering how AI only utilises data to determine popularity, there’s a chance Xavier could tell you he’s gonna play you “something you’ll love” – right before playing you some pig squeals (if the pigs happened to rake in enough listens, that is.) It’s errors like this that truly put a spotlight on Xavier’s inhumanity.
While he emulates the voice of Spotify’s head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan, the AI interjections only render the unnatural flow of tracks even less ‘human.’
Speaking to TechCrunch, Jernigan explained that his aim was to “connect with people,” but it’s clear he is reading from a script, filling in the blanks depending on your personal data. In the same article, Emily Galloway, the head of Product Design for Personalization, said that Spotify’s goal was to “humanise the AI.”
In many ways, the notion of humanising AI feels utterly dystopian. According to the New York Times, we’re in an era where technology has created a ‘recipe for loneliness’ – Spotify’s aim to ‘humanise’ their AI feels like it’s cashing in on that loneliness.
It’s a hollow dose of ‘human’ contact to keep you hooked on the platform in lieu of socialisation. But, in reality, it just leaves you longing for the warm, comforting rambling of a real DJ.
To put it simply, Spotify DJ is essentially a Spotify mix in disguise. It will probably loop the same songs as your other playlists, with the odd injection of Xavier’s faux-charisma to disturb the flow. While it does allow more control and variety than Spotify’s other playlists, it hasn’t quite worked out the perfect DJ formula as it stands.
It also isn’t a scratch on the human touch of real, live radio. So DJs can sleep easily for now – there’s no risk of them being booted off the air just yet.
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