ELLIE SKJERSAA / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

In the last year, Artificial Intelligence has entered the  world with speed and stealth, covertly inching its way into our everyday lives. Industry by industry, it has become a controversial tool admired for its efficiency and productivity in the work force and in creative pursuits. One unexpected place it has rooted itself in is music streaming services, specifically Spotify.

Personalized playlists such as “Daylist” and “Discover Weekly” are AI generated playlists that are created  based on  listening  habits. They have become a popular and fun way to discover new music from your favorite artists or new artists as well.  In February 2023, Spotify released their  newest  AI  addition, DJ  Xavier or “DJ X.”  He, or it, acts as a radio  station of sorts — curating music for the user, based on the genres and artists that  they typically listen to. This can be a way to discover new  music  that  drastically  differs from the ways that previous   generations  have   found their favorite albums and tunes.  Some students explain that they enjoy the AI feature because it exposes them to artists they wouldn’t typically come across on their own.

“I actually do think it’s good,” USD senior Tristan Mischke  said. “It’s really — at the end  of  the day — so  personal, because it’s just what you like. I think  there’s  a  lot of  benefits  of using AI because  it shows people more music and maybe a more diverse portfolio. It definitely promotes lesser  known bands because they can just end up on somebody’s playlist, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

However, some  students  tend  to  stay  away  from  the  feature  because it does not accurately represent the music they enjoy.

“I always feel like it didn’t really give me what I wanted,” USD sophomore Katherine Wronski said. “And so, I just prefer making my own playlists. I feel like it feels more rewarding when you discover stuff on your own.”

In the past, many people owned  the   same   records,   listened to  the same  radio  stations and bonded over this shared experience. While this can still be true today, for some the wide variety of music on streaming services has made music a more individual experience rather than a collective one.

“I think [AI] is making [music] more individualistic and less of a social thing,” USD senior Elle White said. “It’s such a people mover, everybody loves it, it has been present for all of human history. It’s a love-filled process and it’s important to be intentional about it. It’s not something that an algorithm can create. You can’t predict people’s music interest based on an algorithm — it is a lived experience.”

Throughout time and across civilizations, music has had a constant hold over people. It possesses the powerful ability to bring communities together, to strengthen one’s identity and to elevate voices that deserve to be heard. Wronski sympathized with this and pointed out the importance of human creation over AI creation.

Spotify’s controversial AI tool, DJ X, has become a popular feature that allows users to discover new music and to listen to songs they already love. Photo courtesy of @eldsjal/X

“I think that music is supposed to be about connecting with people,” Wronski said. “I don’t think there’s any human connection in having a robot make a playlist for you or for another person on your behalf. I feel like because there’s no flaws in it and I feel like that’s what makes it human. [It’s] the little things. They might not necessarily go together, yet you make them because  you like it  that way, because our brains aren’t wired to like things the exact way  they’re  supposed to  be.”

Spotify has recently released a new premium feature in which a user can describe the tone of a playlist they desire — for example, “a chilly winter day by the fireplace” — and it will generate a personalized playlist. As an Apple Music user, White shared her thoughts on these Spotify advancements.

“I do find myself getting jealous of Spotify users because you guys get those daily mixes,” White said. “I feel like it’s nice to throw it on when you’re not necessarily or intentionally looking to find new music in that moment. But in other times, I appreciate music that I came in contact with myself or through my friends or in a natural way more than I would discovering it like that because I have memories associated with it. I’m not ever going to think, ‘Aww I remember when DJ X recommended me this song.’”

For many, music is what marks moments and stages of their lives. For this reason, students like White find themselves seeking out music on their own accord. Regardless of what music streaming service one uses, for many, music is an important part of their life that seems to seep into their daily routine either purposefully or unexpectedly. USD sophomore Julianna Flores explained that she has subconsciously   been surrounded by music for her  entire  life.

“I think it’s really interesting that music is quite literally everywhere that you go,” Flores said. “I think I notice more when there’s not music somewhere than when there is music. Literally all the time you’re listening to music and you don’t realize it and it’s such a building block of our society.”

Music has been such an integral part of human society. From mixtapes to playlists and records to wireless speakers, the advancement of technology has transformed the way we listen to music alongside it. With these new and foreign features entering the Spotify app, some  students  enjoy  it   for  the  artists it  exposes them to, while others critique it for its contribution to the change in listening experiences. Through this shift, there is one thing that can be said with certainty: humans have constantly found ways to integrate music into their lives, regardless of the forms or advancements of technology. 

The man, and the voice, behind DJ X is Xavier Jernigan, the head of cultural partnerships at Spotify. Photo courtesy of @xavierjernigan/Instagram