Spotify has announced a new AI-powered feature, Prompted Playlists, under the heading “You’re in control: Spotify lets you steer the algorithm” …
Yesterday’s Instagram announcement
What makes the news more interesting to me is how it follows Instagram’s launch of its Your Algorithm feature yesterday.
Users will now see a list of what Instagram considers to be your top, recent interests. This kind of peek behind the algorithmic curtain is already uncommon in social media apps, but Meta is taking it a step further by allowing Instagram users to influence their algorithm directly by picking topics they want to see more or less often in Reels.
This feature, called “Your Algorithm,” […] is landing on Instagram first for those in the US, with a global rollout for English users in the works.
Spotify’s Prompted Playlists
The new feature allows you to give a natural language description of what you would like Spotify to play, being as specific or as broad as you wish.
Prompted Playlists let you describe exactly what you want to hear and set the rules for your personalized playlist. And unlike anything before it, this feature taps into your entire Spotify listening history, all the way back to day one. Each playlist reflects not only what you love today, but the full arc of your taste. Spotify then curates and keeps it fresh based on your listening patterns and world knowledge.
You could ask for “music from my top artists from the last five years,” then push it further with “and feature deep cuts I haven’t heard yet.” Or you could request “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run that keeps a steady pace before easing into relaxing songs for a cool-down.”
9to5Mac’s Take
I said yesterday that many of us are growing increasingly frustrated with algorithmically-driven feeds that don’t match our actual desires.
With these back-to-back announcements, I’m hoping that we are seeing the beginning of a trend in which tech giants recognize this frustration and are responding by giving us greater control.
Is this something you would like to see? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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