spotify's AI generated playlist feature

So Spotify have just launched a feature where you type in a prompt for a playlist and it will curate a playlist based on the prompt and the review has been mixed, to say the least. I was going to put these thoughts on instagram but I think I'd rather just voice them here.

Firstly, and this may just be me coming from a background of being a die hard music fan who lives for music discovery, doesn't that take the fun out of music curation? To me there is no greater feeling than having an idea for a playlist and manually going and searching for the right music to fit the vibe. Even it's something simple, like monthly playlists.

If making playlists isn't your thing, there are already so many playlists out there that have either been curated by everyday users or by proper playlist curators who are paid to make playlists. This is absolutely something AI does not need to be doing. There are more than enough people out here who truly enjoy this that we don't need AI's help.

Also, the rollout for this feature has been simply bizarre. I wouldn't bat an eyelid if they just sent out an email outlining the new feature or have it on some tech blog, but they've been paying music influencers to advertise the feature, which imo, strips them of their credibility completely. These influencers are known for their dedication to their music and they just look like they've thrown in the towel and surrendered to the robots, it's just weird. (one of them did release an interview with r***l o*is and then deleted the comments when they got a bit of pushback so maybe we shouldn't be trusting the morals of who gives us our info anyway lol)

Also also is it not pretty rich of Spotify, the platform that has been investing in military AI, screwing over smaller artists, harvesting mountains of users personal data etc. to almost be making their curators redundant. It seems like just another way for Daniel Ek to keep being rich. He never cared about music when he first started the platform, it was purely another avenue for advertising (this is a proven fact).

The whole vibe of this is icky and if you want a playlist made by a person, please just ask me because I live for this shit and there's no way in hell I'm giving those privileges to AI.

If you want more of an insight into Spotify, I highly recommend Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly. It's a brilliant read.