Music streaming giant Spotify has filed a patent to use voice recognition software to literally spy on our conversations and emotions to recommend music and advertising.
John,
This is terrifying. Music streaming giant Spotify has filed a patent to use voice recognition software to literally spy on our conversations and emotions to recommend music and advertising.1
It gets worse. In the patent Spotify filed, they say they want to use artificial intelligence to analyze our voices and infer things like “gender, emotional state, and accent” in order to maximize their profits and keep us listening to the music their algorithm wants us to hear.2
Imagine telling a friend that you’re feeling depressed and having Spotify “hear” that and decide to keep playing depressing music for you to keep you feeling that way and keep you listening. It’s beyond dystopian.
Human rights experts warn that the type of always-on audio surveillance and emotional manipulation that Spotify describes in the patent would put music listeners in danger of privacy violations, security risks, and discrimination.3
We’re gathering these signatures alongside the hundreds of independent musicians and artists that make up the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers, who have been running the #JusticeAtSpotify campaign demanding better pay and more transparency from the company.
P.S. I also released a music video for a song called “Surveillance Capitalism” today that we’re using to promote the petition effort. All proceeds from the song will be donated to UMAW to support the #JusticeAtSpotify campaign. Feel free to check it out and share!
Sent via ActionNetwork.org.
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