Photo: Spotify
Spotify is currently the world’s number one music streaming app, including in the car where it can run not only on mobile devices, but also on Android Auto, CarPlay, and Android Automotive.
So naturally, people are pretty excited whenever Spotify comes up with a new feature, though a recent invention has been received with mixed reactions, to say the least.
Back in January, Spotify has patented a new technology that would allow the company to recommend songs based on the emotional state, gender, age, and the accents of the user. So in theory, the system would rely on a speech recognition system to determine the mood and everything else and then play music based on the collected data.
Needless to say, the whole thing has caused plenty of concerns, especially in terms of privacy, so digital rights non-profit Access Now has already asked Spotify to drop the technology as soon as possible and never bring it to mass production.
Now the whole music industry is getting together for the same goal, requesting Spotify in an open letter to give up on the idea because it involves emotion manipulation, discrimination, privacy violations, and data security infringements.
Several artists have signed the letter, explaining that “any use of this technology is unacceptable” and calling for the company to abandon it for good.
“While we are pleased to hear that Spotify has no current plans to deploy the technology, it begs the question: why are you exploring its use? We call on your company to make a public commitment to never use, license, sell, or monetize the recommendation technology. Even if Spotify doesn’t use it, your company could profit from the surveillance tool if another entity deploys it,” the letter reads.
The good news is that Spotify has already responded, promising to never use the technology and emphasizing the whole idea was just a patent that doesn’t represent an intention to bundle with it publicly available services.
Back in January, Spotify has patented a new technology that would allow the company to recommend songs based on the emotional state, gender, age, and the accents of the user. So in theory, the system would rely on a speech recognition system to determine the mood and everything else and then play music based on the collected data.
Needless to say, the whole thing has caused plenty of concerns, especially in terms of privacy, so digital rights non-profit Access Now has already asked Spotify to drop the technology as soon as possible and never bring it to mass production.
Now the whole music industry is getting together for the same goal, requesting Spotify in an open letter to give up on the idea because it involves emotion manipulation, discrimination, privacy violations, and data security infringements.
Several artists have signed the letter, explaining that “any use of this technology is unacceptable” and calling for the company to abandon it for good.
“While we are pleased to hear that Spotify has no current plans to deploy the technology, it begs the question: why are you exploring its use? We call on your company to make a public commitment to never use, license, sell, or monetize the recommendation technology. Even if Spotify doesn’t use it, your company could profit from the surveillance tool if another entity deploys it,” the letter reads.
The good news is that Spotify has already responded, promising to never use the technology and emphasizing the whole idea was just a patent that doesn’t represent an intention to bundle with it publicly available services.
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