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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-468010" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZO2TST2SFBIXRI7CA7KFKOUIUI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Friday after Israel carried out a strike on Iran, triggering fears of an expanding war in the Middle East.



Israel carried out a limited military strike against Iran and is currently assessing the strike’s effectiveness and damage caused, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News. The operation was conducted in the early hours of Friday morning local time.



Both oil benchmarks pared gains after initially jumping over 3% on news of explosions in Iran. Global benchmark Brent traded 1.73% higher at $88.62 a barrel after topping $90 earlier, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.75% to $84.1 per barrel.



Safe haven assets also rose. Spot gold prices&nbsp;surged to a fresh all-time high of 2,411.09 per ounce, while the&nbsp;yen&nbsp;strengthened 0.45% to 153.93 against the U.S. dollar.



Iran’s Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near the airport in Isfahan, and that flights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz airports have been suspended. Flight tracking site Flight Radar 24 showed that multiple flights were diverted over Iranian airspace early Friday.



A Telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that there were no explosions on the ground in Isfahan and that the explosive sounds were caused by Iran’s defenses. The country’s armed forces also said that nuclear facilities in the Isfahan province were “in complete security.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shadow-war-is-over"><a></a>‘Shadow war’ is over</h2>



Israel on Sunday vowed to “exact a price” from Iran in response to the weekend’s large-scale aerial assault on the Jewish state.



A day earlier, Iran struck military targets inside Israel, launching more than 300 missiles and drones, in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus, Syria.



“With Israel’s apparent strikes on Iran today, retaliating for Iran’s attack on Israel last Sunday, we now have a direct nation-on-nation hot war,” said Rapidan Energy’s Director of Global Oil Service, Clay Seigle.



“The ‘shadow war’ chapter has come to an end,” he added.



While Washington has pledged an “ironclad” commitment to Israel, President Joe Biden has also told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will not join any offensive operations against Iran, a senior administration official told NBC News.



“The U.S. should avoid further entrapment in Israel’s efforts to drag U.S. military forces into a broader war with Iran,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, or Dawn.



Israel’s decision to attack Iran in spite of pleas from its primary backers is a “clear indicator of how irresponsible and unaccountable the Israeli government is,” she added.



Seigle maintained that’s it’s still too early to determine what could happen next.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Risks to markets</h2>



However, he pointed out that the “big risk” for oil markets in the expanding Middle East war is that oil exports from the Arabian Gulf will be cut off. The region is responsible for more than 20 million barrels of oil per day.



A disruption or closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint which sits between Iran and Oman and through which one-fifth of global oil production flows daily, would also cause oil prices to shoot higher.



“A Hormuz disruption would be very serious for the world economy, potentially driving oil prices well into the triple digits to levels that induce demand destruction,” he added.



Symbolically, the Jewish state’s attack on Iran is also “bigger than anything Israel has carried out in the past,” given how it is a direct strike against targets inside Iranian territory by the Israeli military, Eurasia Group said in a note. That being said, the political risk consultancy said such a response suggests the escalatory pressure will likely be contained — Iran has not acknowledged that a missile strike took place, blaming the explosions instead on air defense systems.



“The response from the Islamic Republic has been to downplay the attack, suggesting that the regime will feel little need to respond immediately,” said Eurasia Group.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the U.S. economy, while otherwise strong, has not seen inflation come back to the central bank’s goal, pointing to the further unlikelihood that interest rate cuts are in the offing anytime soon.



Speaking to a policy forum focused on U.S.-Canada economic relations, Powell said that while inflation continues to make its way lower, it hasn’t moved quickly enough, and the current state of policy should remain intact.



“More recent data shows solid growth and continued strength in the labor market, but also a lack of further progress so far this year on returning to our 2% inflation goal,” the Fed chief said during a panel talk.



Echoing recent statements by central bank officials, Powell indicated the current level of policy likely will stay in place until inflation gets closer to target.



Since July 2023, the Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate in a target range between 5.25%-5.5%, the highest in 23 years. That was the result of 11 consecutive rate hikes that began in March 2022.



“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence, and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” he said. “That said, we think policy is well positioned to handle the risks that we face.”



Powell added that until inflation shows more progress, “We can maintain the current level of restriction for as long as needed.”



The comments follow inflation data through the first three months of 2024 that has been higher than expected. A consumer price index reading for March, released last week, showed inflation running at a 3.5% annual rate — well off the peak around 9% in mid-2022 but drifting higher since October 2023.



Treasury yields rose as Powell spoke. The benchmark 2-year note, which is especially sensitive to Fed rate moves, briefly topped 5%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 3 basis points. The S&amp;P 500 wavered after Powell’s remarks, briefly turning negative on the day before recovering.



Powell noted the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, showed core inflation at 2.8% in February and has been little changed over the past few months.



“We’ve said at the [Federal Open Market Committee] that we’ll need greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2% before [it will be] appropriate to ease policy,” he said. “The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence.”



Financial markets have had to reset their expectations for rate cuts this year. At the start of 2024, traders in the fed funds futures market were pricing in six or seven cuts this year, starting in March. As the data has progressed, the expectations have shifted to one or two reductions, assuming quarter percentage point moves, and not starting until September.



In their most recent update, FOMC officials in March indicated they see three cuts this year. However, several policymakers in recent days have stressed the data-dependent nature of policy and have not committed to set level of reductions.



Correction: Powell’s comments follow inflation data through the first three months of 2024 that has been higher than expected. An earlier version misstated the year.

107390308-17109608742024-03-20t184840z_2039781085_rc2up6aegbf4_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-477152" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107401739-1713271291754-gettyimages-519464988-000090539233_Unapproved.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Crowds walk below neon signs on Nanjing Road. The street is the main shopping district of the city and one of the world’s busiest shopping districts. Nikada | E+ | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slightly raised its global growth forecast, saying the economy had proven “surprisingly resilient” despite inflationary pressures and monetary policy shifts.



The IMF now expects global growth of 3.2% in 2024, up by a modest 0.1 percentage point from its earlier January forecast, and in line with the growth projection for 2023. Growth is then expected to expand at the same pace of 3.2% in 2025.



The IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said the findings suggest the global economy is heading for a “soft landing,” following a string of economic crises, and that the risks to the outlook were now broadly balanced.



“Despite gloomy predictions, the global economy remains remarkably resilient, with steady growth and inflation slowing almost as quickly as it rose,” he said in a blog post.



Growth is set to be led by advanced economies, with the U.S. already exceeding its pre-Covid-19 pandemic trend and with the euro zone showing strong signs of recovery. But dimmer prospects in China and other large emerging market economies could weigh on global trade partners, the report said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-among-key-downside-risks"><a></a>China among key downside risks</h2>



China, whose economy remains weakened by a downturn in its property market, was cited among a series of potential downside risks facing the global economy. Also included were price spikes prompted by geopolitical concerns, trade tensions, a divergence in disinflation paths among major economies and prolonged high interest rates.



To the upside, looser fiscal policy, falling inflation and advancements in artificial intelligence were cited as potential growth drivers.



Central banks are now being closely watched for a signal on the future path of inflation, with opinion diverging on either side of the Atlantic as to when the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will cut rates. Some analysts have recently forecast a possible Fed rate hike as stubborn inflation and rising Middle East tensions weigh on economic sentiment.



The IMF said it sees global headline inflation falling from an annual average of 6.8% in 2023 to 5.9% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025, with advanced economies returning to their inflation targets sooner than emerging market and developing economies.



“As the global economy approaches a soft landing, the near-term priority for central banks is to ensure that inflation touches down smoothly, by neither easing policies prematurely nor delaying too long and causing target undershoots,” Gourinchas said.



“At the same time, as central banks take a less restrictive stance, a renewed focus on implementing medium-term fiscal consolidation to rebuild room for budgetary maneuver and priority investments, and to ensure debt sustainability, is in order,” he added.



Despite the rosier outlook of Tuesday, global growth remains low by historic standards, owing in part to weak productivity growth and increasing geopolitical fragmentation. The IMF’s five-year forecast sees global growth at 3.1%, its lowest level in decades.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-477062" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107385958-1710210089452-gettyimages-1868370670-THAILAND_GOLD.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An employee handles one kilogram gold bullions at the YLG Bullion International Co. headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.  Chalinee Thirasupa | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Gold prices continued to hover near record highs days after Middle East tensions flared, boosting the safe-haven appeal of bullion.



Gold prices notched another record close Monday, with the most-active June contract for gold futures trading 0.37% higher to settle at $2,383 per ounce, and some say there’s more room to run.



“The recent gold rally has been aided by geopolitical heat and is coinciding with record equity index levels,” Citi wrote in a note dated April 15.



Demand for the safe-haven asset grew amid escalating tensions in the Middle East after Iran fired over 300 drones and missiles directly at Israel — most of which were intercepted, thanks to Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.



Market watchers are closely monitoring a potential retaliation by the Jewish state, which has vowed to “exact a price” from Iran.



A significant retaliation could lead to a wider conflict, which would consequently trigger renewed buying of gold, as well as a rally in oil prices and strengthening of the U.S. dollar, said Bartosz Sawicki, market analyst at financial services firm Conotoxia fintech.



Gold, which retains its value as a hedge against inflation, tends to perform well in periods of economic uncertainty when investors move away from the riskier assets such as equities.



Bullion prices hit an all-time high of $2,448.80 per ounce intraday last Friday.



Spot gold prices have been on a tear since the start of the year, climbing over 15% year-to-date on the back of a cocktail of factors including a global central bank splurge, geopolitical tensions and expectations of rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. 



Gold prices usually have an inverse relationship with interest rates. As interest rates fall, gold becomes more appealing compared with fixed income assets such as bonds, which would yield weaker returns.



Hotter-than-expected inflation in March pushed back market expectations of a rate cut to September, and the expectation is now for two rate reductions instead of three.



n spite of that, analysts remain bullish on the yellow metal’s outlook, boosted by continued physical demand as well as its appeal as a geopolitical hedge.&nbsp;



“We project $3,000/oz gold over the next 6-18m,” said Citi’s analysts led by Aakash Doshi, Citi’s North America head of commodities research. The financial gold “price floor” has also moved higher from around $1,000 to $2,000 per ounce, Citi said.



On Friday, Goldman Sachs referred to the gold market as an “unshakeable bull market” and revised upward its price target for the yellow metal from $2,300 per ounce to $2,700 by the end of the year.



— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-476716" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003.jpeg 929w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vertigo3d | E+ | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The chief technology officer of Ceres Power has warned that as artificial intelligence tools become more widely used for efficiency, there is a risk that this could result in even higher energy consumption.



“What scares me is the energy consumption if you’re using ChatGPT [for simple queries],” Caroline Hargrove said during an “IOT: Powering the Digital Economy” panel on the new energy landscape.



Hargrove is CTO of Ceres Power, a developer of clean energy technology, including electrolysers for green hydrogen.



An International Energy Agency report, published in January, highlighted that on average a typical Google search uses 0.3 watt-hours of electricity versus 2.9 watt-hours for a ChatGPT request.



The report suggested that when this technology is incorporated into 9 billion searches daily, it would require nearly 10 terawatt-hours of additional electricity a year.  



More broadly, the IEA’s report said that by 2026, the “AI industry is expected to have grown exponentially to consume at least ten times its [electricity] demand in 2023.”



Hargrove said if this consumption was not managed properly “then the perverse effect could happen that we use so much more energy.”



“So as much as I’m a big fan in using the data to really optimize everything, we should use it to reduce our consumption, but the perverse effect can happen when you have a new toy and, and people getting behind it at [such] a rate,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-responsible-users-of-ai"><a></a>‘Responsible users’ of AI</h2>



Mary de Wysocki, chief sustainability officer at technology company Cisco, made a similar point in that it was important to be “responsible users of [AI] where we know where can add the benefit and not just use it because it’s potentially fun.”



Meanwhile, Bertrand Piccard, founder and chairman of the environmental non-profit organization Solar Impulse Foundation, said AI is a “fantastic way to reduce energy consumption” if it is well managed.



Piccard referred to the example of smart electricity grids using this technology that “will integrate intermittent renewable energy … with storage, with the distribution, with the consumption which means that almost no energy will be lost.”



“So [these are] the things that give me hope,” he said.



A report by the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition, published in March, looked at the risks that AI could pose amid the climate crisis, including its growing energy demand.



Based on its findings, the coalition recommended that regulators ensure technology companies are transparent in reporting the energy used and emissions produced by their AI models.



CAAD also said governments should enforce these transparency rules with “clear, strong penalties” if companies fail to comply.

107361439-1705616097110-gettyimages-1494104649-2023_vrtg_may_05_0003

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-476713" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107400835-1713107631482-gettyimages-89133867-win308_sub305_002.jpeg 929w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Win-initiative/neleman | Stone | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



With about 100 million tracks available and over 600 million subscribers, helping listeners find the music they will love has become a navigational challenge for Spotify. It’s the promise of personalization and meaningful recommendations that will give the vast catalog more meaning, and that is central to Spotify’s mission.



The streaming audio giant’s suite of recommendation tools has grown over the years: Spotify Home feed,<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__newsroom.spotify.com_2019-2D05-2D02_five-2Dways-2Dto-2Dmake-2Dyour-2Ddiscover-2Dweekly-2Dplaylists-2Deven-2Dmore-2Dpersonalized_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&amp;r=0CWepIbi9zbaptf4QjVSaQ&amp;m=h9I6Nob4JYekdULzm3jgGOyZdoRdqnNui4auLB7TtMlDKP_ZGUWB6PrjmpMYbufk&amp;s=0QBH1FDSLbahb2il0Si1F0IY6Roe1C9utj_AdXH9x-A&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a>Discover Weekly<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__newsroom.spotify.com_2019-2D05-2D02_five-2Dways-2Dto-2Dmake-2Dyour-2Ddiscover-2Dweekly-2Dplaylists-2Deven-2Dmore-2Dpersonalized_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&amp;r=0CWepIbi9zbaptf4QjVSaQ&amp;m=h9I6Nob4JYekdULzm3jgGOyZdoRdqnNui4auLB7TtMlDKP_ZGUWB6PrjmpMYbufk&amp;s=0QBH1FDSLbahb2il0Si1F0IY6Roe1C9utj_AdXH9x-A&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">,</a> Blend, Daylist, and<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__newsroom.spotify.com_2021-2D03-2D31_introducing-2Dnew-2Dspotify-2Dmixes-2Dpersonalized-2Dplaylists-2Dfeaturing-2Dyour-2Dfavorite-2Dartists-2Dgenres-2Dand-2Ddecades_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&amp;r=0CWepIbi9zbaptf4QjVSaQ&amp;m=h9I6Nob4JYekdULzm3jgGOyZdoRdqnNui4auLB7TtMlDKP_ZGUWB6PrjmpMYbufk&amp;s=T0MnheFfxWq86g36mOmmh_m-Wzgl35V9p7jnRNYwGtM&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a>Made for You Mixes. And in recent years, there have been signs that it is working. According to data released by Spotify at its 2022 Investor Day, artist discoveries every month on Spotify had reached 22 billion, up from 10 billion in 2018, “and we’re nowhere near done,” the company stated at that time.



Over the past decade or more, Spotify has been investing in AI and, in particular, in machine learning. Its recently launched AI DJ may be its biggest bet yet that technology will allow subscribers to better personalize listening sessions and discover new music. The AI DJ mimics the vibe of radio by announcing the names of songs and lead-in to tracks, something aimed in part to help ease listeners into extending out of their comfort zones. An existing pain point for AI algorithms — which can be excellent at giving listeners what it knows they already like — is anticipating when you want to break out of that comfort zone. 



The AI DJ combines personalization technology, generative AI, and a dynamic AI voice, and listeners can tap the DJ button when they want to hear something new, and something less-directly-derived from their established likes. Behind the dulcet tones of an AI DJ there are people, tech experts and music experts, who aim to improve the recommendation capacity of Spotify’s tools. The company has hundreds of music editors and experts across the globe. A Spotify spokesperson said the generative AI tool allows the human experts to “scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible.” &nbsp;



The data on a particular song or artist captures a few attributes: particular musical features, and which song or artist it has been typically paired with&nbsp;among the millions of listening sessions whose data the AI algorithm can access.&nbsp;Gathering information about the song is a fairly easy process, including release year, genre, and mood — from happy to danceable or melancholic. Various musical attributes, such as tempo, key, and instrumentation, are also identified. Combining this data associated with millions of listening sessions and other users’ preferences helps to generate new recommendations, and makes the leap possible from aggregated data to individual listener assumptions.



In its simplest formulation, “Users who liked Y also liked Z. We know you like Y, so you might like Z,” is how an AI finds matches. And Spotify says it’s working. “Since launching DJ, we’ve found that when DJ listeners hear commentary alongside personal music recommendations, they’re&nbsp;more willing to try something new (or listen to a song they may have otherwise skipped),” the spokesperson said.&nbsp;



If successful, it’s not just listeners that get relief from a pain point. A great discovery tool is as beneficial to the artists seeking to build connections with new fans.



Julie Knibbe, founder &amp; CEO of Music Tomorrow — which aims to help artists connect with more listeners by understanding how algorithms work and how to better work with them — says everyone is trying to figure out how to balance familiarity and novelty in a meaningful way, and everyone is leaning on AI algorithms to help make this possible. Be she says the balance between discovering new music and staying with established patterns is a central unresolved issue for all involved, from Spotify to listeners and the artists.



“Any AI is only good at what you tell them to do,” Knibbe said. “These recommender systems have been around for over a decade and they’ve become very good at predicting what you will like. What they can’t do is know what’s in your head, specifically when you want to venture out into a new musical terrain or category.”&nbsp;



Spotify’s Daylist is an attempt to use generative AI to take into account established tastes, but also the varying contexts that can shape and reshape a listeners’ tastes across the course of a day, and make new recommendations that fit various moods, activities and vibes. Knibbe says it’s possible that improvements like these continue, and the AI gets better at finding the formula for how much novelty a listener wants, but she added, “the assumption that people want to discover new music all the time is not true.”



Most people still return, fairly happily, to familiar musical terrain and listening patterns.&nbsp;



“You have various&nbsp;profiles of listeners, curators, experts … people put different demands on the AI,” Knibbe said. “Experts are more difficult to surprise, but they aren’t the majority of listeners, who tend to be more casual,” and whose Spotify usage, she says, often amounts to creating a “comfortable background” to daily life.



Technology optimists often speak in terms of an era of “abundance.” With 100 million songs available, but many listeners preferring the same 100 songs a million times, it’s easy to understand why a new balance is being sought. But Ben Ratliff, a music critic and author of “Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty,” says algorithms are less solution to this problem than a further entrenching of it.



“Spotify is good at catching onto popular sensibilities and creating a soundtrack for them,” Ratliff said. “Its Sadgirl Starter Pack playlist, for instance, has a great name and about a million and a half likes. Unfortunately, under the banner of a gift, the SSP simplifies the oceanic complexity of young-adult depression into a small collection of dependably ‘yearny’ music acts, and makes hard clichés of music and sensibility form more quickly.” 



Works of curation that are clearly made by actual people with actual preferences remain Ratliff’s preference.&nbsp;Even a good playlist, he says, might have been made without much intention and conscience, but just a developed sense of pattern recognition, “whether it’s patterns of obscurity or patterns of the broadly known,” he said.



Depending on the individual, AI may have equal chances of becoming either a utopian or dystopian solution within the 100-million track universe.&nbsp;Ratliff says most users should keep it more simple in their streaming music journeys. “As long as you realize that the app will never know you in the way you want to be known, and as long as you know what you’re looking for, or have some good prompts at the ready, you can find lots of great music on Spotify.”&nbsp;

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