are you teaching Kittler? consider what does ‘Radio’ mean in 2025?
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if yr teaching Kittler then you already know that media technologies aren’t tools. they are systems that structure realities, shape perceptions, form cultures, transmit their own idiosyncratic encodings, etc… Kittler’s 1985 concept of “discourse networks” — the discursive assemblage of ever-changing networks && technosocial practices — is perfect for understanding what ‘radio’ has become today
“start radio” && “starting radio” are expressions that Alphabet uses in Google Music to mean that the Alphabet algo should continue on from the direction determined by its analysis of a song, setting in motion a functionally infinite stream of music (songs) that follow a predictive path that Alphabet’s AI maps out
once a broadcast technology, ‘radio’ is now an expression of algorithms && AI. the AI ‘radio station’ is a datastream approaching infinity from our limited human perspectives because it flows almost endlessly, bounded only by electricity && compute powers ,rather than analog amplitudes && the spectrum of wavelengths that carried vibrations across the air to our ears
– jonCates (March 3rd 2025)
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“Google/Alphabet’s algorithms are at the heart of this feature. They analyze various attributes of a selected song, including:
Genre
Tempo
Instrumentation
Mood
Artist similarities…
Based on this analysis, the algorithm predicts and selects subsequent songs that share similar characteristics.
Functionally Infinite Stream:
The goal is to provide a continuous, uninterrupted listening experience…
Drawing from a vast library of existing, recorded music.
Using algorithms to analyze and match songs based on various criteria.
However, the landscape is rapidly changing with the advancement of generative AI. Here’s how that ties into the future of music platforms:
Generative AI’s Role:
Generative AI has the potential to move beyond selection and into actual creation. This means AI could:
Compose new melodies.
Generate unique instrumental tracks.
Even create entirely new songs in specific styles.
YouTube, and Alphabet in general, are actively exploring this potential. As shown by the information regarding the “Dream Track” experiment, and the AI music incubator.
The Future of Music Services:
In the future, “start radio” might involve a blend of selection and generation.
Users could request highly specific musical experiences, and the AI would generate custom music to fulfill those requests.
This is shown in the testing of the “Ask for music any way you like” feature.” — Gemini AI (March 3rd 2025)
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the crystalRadio energies above are a detail from my Glitch Western Art from 2023, revealing the inner glitches of how The Phantasmagoric Metamachine works in my nonlinear narrative
