Spotify Launches ‘Livi,’ the Spanish-Speaking AI DJ
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Spotify this week announced the launch of a new Spanish-speaking version of its AI DJ, more than a year after debuting its English-speaking AI-powered radio feature.
Dubbed “Livi,” the Spanish-speaking DJ’s voice is also based on a real person, similar to the first AI voice model, “X,” which was based on Spotify’s Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan.
According to the popular streaming service, Olivia “Livi” Quiroz Roa, a senior music editor at Spotify, was chosen as the voice for this feature because listeners worldwide found her voice to be the most relatable and engaging during beta testing.
Spotify’s generative AI radio feature, developed with technologies from OpenAI and its AI voice platform Sonatic , combines personalization technology, generative AI, and an AI voice to offer personalized music recommendations with radio-style commentary that changes based on user activity.
Spotify’s AI DJ Success Drives Expansion into Spanish Market
When launching this AI-powered feature, the company anticipated that users would spend more time on its platform. Internal research has confirmed this expectation, “We observe an increase in listenership the week after a user first engages with the DJ compared to the week before,” according to the announcement.
Given that Spanish is the second largest language group globally and with millions of Spanish-speaking listeners on Spotify, it made sense for the company to explore the Spanish language following English. According to the company’s announcement, after launching the English-speaking DJ feature, many Spanish-speaking users took to social media (resulting in over a 215% increase in social conversation) to inquire about a Spanish-language DJ.
Photo by Microsoft Edge on Unsplash
Microsoft Launches AI-Powered Designer App for iOS and Android
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Microsoft announced this Wednesday, that its AI-powered Designer app is now available for all users with a personal Microsoft account. The app, considered Canva’s competitor in the market, was launched in October 2022 as a preview for selected users and opened for web users with Microsoft Edge in 2023.
“Designer now integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products including Word and PowerPoint through Microsoft Copilot1 and Microsoft Photos2 to keep you in your flow when inspiration strikes,” wrote the company in its announcement. “Designer is now supported in more than 80 languages on the web, available as a free mobile app, and as an app in Windows. ”
The company also shared the new app update on its Microsoft 365 account on X: “Let your creativity run wild in Designer. Design and edit anything you can imagine with the power of AI.”
Let your creativity run wild in Designer. 🖌️ Design and edit anything you can imagine with the power of AI. ✨ pic.twitter.com/ge9M5fRtAt — Microsoft 365 (@Microsoft365) July 17, 2024
The new app has been developed to help everyday users create attractive visual images, from photo editing to stickers to greeting cards to AI images. Among its main features, Microsoft has highlighted a new “prompt template” option to help users facing a blank page get ideas and for a better understanding of what they can create with the new tool.
The stickers created within the app can be shared through social media and messages apps, and customers can create emojis, avatars, wallpapers, and more with just a basic text description. The Restyle image feature can transform uploaded photos into works of art in different styles powered by AI. Microsoft also announced an upcoming feature, Replace Background, that will allow users to easily replace backgrounds.
