Spotify has come under fire for its use of artificial intelligence after pop star Lorde publicly criticized the music streaming service for sharing completely incorrect data about her work.
The controversy centers on Spotify’s new “About Song” AI feature, which drew the singer’s ire on Thursday after it generated an inaccurate summary about the live performance and meaning of one of her tracks.
The feature in question is an AI-powered tool currently in beta testing, which was released to a limited number of users in February.
It works by collecting third-party sources on the Internet to gather additional background information and context for individual songs.
In Lorde’s case, the AI mined data from an Australian music website to claim that during her recent Ultrasound On tour, the singer turned a specific song into a performance piece by stripping down to her underwear while a dancer poured water on her stomach to imitate a shower scene.
Lorde shared a screenshot of the AI text on her Instagram Story to firmly correct the error and vent her frustration with the technology.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say we don’t want this,” the singer wrote.
He noted that not only was the description inaccurate because it named the completely wrong song, but he argued that reducing a song to an AI-generated meaning directly on the streaming platform limits free interpretation for the listener.
Lorde concluded her post with a direct plea to the tech giant, asking it to at least make it possible for artists to opt out of the feature.
The New Zealand star’s reaction highlights the current tension and sensitivity around artificial intelligence among creatives in the entertainment industry.
She is far from the only high-profile artist expressing important concerns; Earlier this year, R&B star SZA expressed similar frustrations, stating that she felt like she was at war because of AI.
SZA explained that she doesn’t feel like she’s competing against other pop or R&B artists, but rather against anti-intellectualism and the desire to do things the easy way, stating that a machine could never be encouraged to replicate the unique combination of information provided by its own human experience.
