Artificially intelligent assistants have been big in sci-fi movies over the years, but current iterations simply haven’t captured the average user’s imagination in the same way. Alexa and Google Assistant are as close as we’ve come so far, and while these virtual assistants perform tasks well, they’re almost entirely devoid of any personality. That’s likely why Spotify thought an AI-powered DJ might be a good idea, spicing up your listening experience as if you were actually in the club rather than your bedroom.
Unfortunately, that’s simply not the case. The canned responses from what sounds oddly similar to the voice of hip-hop legend and SVU detective Ice-T do little more than interrupt the listening experience, reminding users why they stopped listening to the radio in the first place. Even worse, the mixes are hardly an improvement over similar non-DJ options, so how can we fix this Spotify problem to make it a bit more enjoyable? Let us change the voice!
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Let’s get some customization in here already
Just like Google Maps, we want to change the voice
When it comes to this kind of technology, new voices are part of the agreement. From choosing your video game characters to getting directions in your car, the standard practice is to allow the user to choose the voice they’ll be listening to regularly. The Spotify DJ, unfortunately, does not follow that standard. Whether you love or hate this Ice-T ripoff voice, that’s what you’re stuck with, no questions asked.
At this point in history, it seems a bit unreasonable. Google Assistant speakers have 12 voices you can choose from for far more responses, while Alexa offers seven, which is obviously less, but it’s six more than the Spotify DJ. Heck, we’ve even been lucky enough to get actual celebrity voices to be featured, including John Legend and Issa Rae. And they’re not knockoffs either; we’re talking about the real thing.
Do we really need the Spotify DJ?
Let’s focus on what’s important: music
If Spotify wants its DJ experiment to improve the platform, the ability to customize the voice will be a great place to start, if only so that users don’t get sick of hearing “All right moving on” every nine and a half minutes. However, a more important question should probably be asked before investing too much in the technology: does anyone actually need this?
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New media platforms have really jumped on the nostalgic trend lately like Disney announcing plans for a cable-like tab on Disney+. But we definitely don’t want Spotify to turn into radio. Also, if we missed anything about the radio, it certainly wasn’t the DJ interrupting songs every few minutes. It might just be easier to find a playlist you like, scroll down, and find the recommended options to avoid the Spotify DJ altogether. Even better, take AI out of the equation, find your favorite album, download it on Spotify, and go sans the internet with some headphones to get back to your roots. Regardless, Spotify needs to concentrate on user choice instead of nostalgia-laden gimicks if it wishes to keep users happy, including me.
