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I've used YouTube Music as my primary streaming app for some time, and it has mostly managed to avoid the onslaught of AI features that have come to other apps. However, thanks to YouTube Labs, it's now the testbed for a new AI feature that brings AI hosts to the music listening experience.
To some, this might sound annoying; after all, who would want some AI-generated voices interrupting their listening experience? However, I've found that I don't actually hate this new feature, and I hope it sticks around, with some changes.
Diving into my favorite songs
Beyond the Beat sneaks its way into your listening experience every few songs, with the two AI-generated hosts, Mo and Flow, chatting about the song that just played and/or the upcoming song. The first time you enable the feature, they'll even introduce themselves after the first listen to let you know that they are, in fact, AI, and that they can get some things wrong.
However, despite being AI, they actually have surprisingly great chemistry and ooze personality. The conversations flow pretty seamlessly between these two, and if you didn't know they were AI, you might think they were actual radio hosts.
Like Spotify's AI DJ, they'll only interject every so often, and when they do, it'll last for less than a minute, usually around 40 seconds. Usually, the conversations provide context to a song, such as backstory or trivia, and I actually find much of the commentary pretty fascinating.
The first time "Beyond the Beat" came on, the hosts discussed how the song "Yours" by Mariah Carey was initially intended as a duet with Justin Timberlake, but contractual complications resulted in only a solo version being released. That's something I had heard before, but it was surprising to hear it from the hosts.
At one point, they discussed Doja Cat's "Jealous Type" being performed at the VMAs and how it was Kenny G's first time performing at the awards show. It reminded me of how shocked I was to see him opening for her performance, so this was a great context to add to what I thought was a fantastic moment.
They also pointed out how Kelly Rowland's "Commander" has some deliberate grammatical errors, and provided the history behind the name of the track "Lionheart (Fearless)" by Joel Corry and Tom Grennan. I was also surprised to learn how people apparently thought that "Rocketeers" by Far East Movement was copying a track from Justin Bieber (despite it being produced first).
I also got a chuckle when the hosts were discussing how Craig David's "Ain't Giving Up" was instrumental in his big comeback, and at one point, Flow commented how she remembers him "from way back."
Of course, many of these facts are things you could learn with a quick Google Search, but I'm often not that curious enough about what I'm listening to, at least enough that would warrant a search. That's probably a big reason why I appreciate the short interruptions, as I feel like it adds, not detracts, from my listening experience.
It's not for everyone
Of course, I understand this isn't for everyone. If you're listening to music, sometimes you just want to get lost in the tunes without being interrupted by AI-generated music trivia.
Even a quick search on Reddit will reveal people complaining about the feature, with some questioning why anyone would want such a feature, and others expressing frustration about the inability to permanently mute it. One compares it to Spotify's AI DJ and notes that it doesn't significantly enhance the listening experience on the popular streaming app.
Comment from r/technology
Fortunately, YouTube Music knows my tastes pretty well, and the hosts are only available when you start a radio station or an auto-generated mix, so the vibe of the songs melds pretty well in my experience.
It should be noted that while you can't permanently mute the hosts, you can snooze the feature for one hour or a day. That said, it's only a test at this stage, so it's not yet widely available. US-based subscribers will have to consciously sign up for and enable the experiment for it to appear. As a result, most users won't have to worry about an annoying AI-generated radio show ruining their music experience.
With any luck, any kinks will be ironed out before a potential wide release, and the AI hosts will be an opt-in feature rather than an opt-out. It would also be great to see how Google can expand on it, similar to how Spotify has expanded the feature to support voice requests for songs (as opposed to just choosing a song for you).
How to get started
If you wanna give this a try, enabling YouTube Music's AI hosts is pretty simple. However, it is currently only available to US-based YouTube Music/Premium subscribers, and it's unclear if or when it will be rolled out to more countries.
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