OpenAI's AI technology ChatGPT has been all over the headlines recently, thanks to its uncanny ability to do, well.. pretty much anything you ask it to do.
We've seen ChatGPT write lyrics, generate melodies and chord progressions, deliver advice on how to become a successful music producer and even design a VST plugin version of a guitar pedal.
Radio DJs and playlist-makers are next up in AI's job-killing crosshairs, it seems, as developer Brett Bauman has repurposed OpenAI's technology towards creating customized music playlists. The iOS app PlaylistAI is capable of generating Spotify and Apple Music playlists in response to any given text prompt. So, if you fancy listening to three hours of early '90s cheesy pop bangers, all you need to do is ask the app, and it'll instantly drop that playlist into your library.
PlaylistAI is capable of responding to some fairly detailed prompts, and can provide you with mixes for specific scenarios like going for a run, studying for an exam, or cleaning the house. It can create a playlist made up of music that's similar to a given artist, music that was popular in a particular decade, or even a selection of artists that have previously played at a well-known festival or event.
For instance, we asked PlaylistAI to make us a playlist of 'Japanese techno that could soundtrack space travel.' (We're planning on getting off this planet when the AI overlords take over, and we'll need some tunes for the ride). The app duly responded, dropping a five-hour playlist fittingly titled Outer Space Beats into our Spotify library that featured Japanese electronic music artists Takkyu Ishino and Soichi Terada.
So far, so good. However, also present on the list were songs from Japanese alt-rock band Coaltar of the Deepers, suggesting the app's comprehension isn't as sophisticated as we'd hoped. Worst of all, we discovered Johann Sebastian Bach's Sinfonia from Cantata No. 174 buried deep in the mix. That's not Japanese techno, by any stretch of the imagination, and it's probably going to put a bit of a downer on our high-BPM interstellar joyride.
In addition to text prompts, PlaylistAI can work with images, so you're able to instantly scan a festival poster and create a playlist made up of music from the artists that are performing. It's also capable of scanning your own library to produce personalized playlists that feature the top tracks and artists from your listening history, kind of like a more customizable version of Spotify Wrapped.
Glitches aside, PlaylistAI remains a pretty cool idea, and has the potential to become a powerful tool for music discovery. It's also free, unless you choose to opt for the Pro tier, which offers more playlists and extra features.
Find out more on PlaylistAI's website, or download the app from the App Store.
