Musician, entrepreneur, and tech investor will.i.am showcases RaiDiO.FYI, an interactive radio platform housing stations with digital hosts powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at a recent event at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
RaiDiO.FYI offers fresh possibilities for how people engage with content by allowing users to interact directly with AI-powered digital hosts. It differs from traditional AI-powered DJs of popular streaming apps like Spotify by enabling two-way communication, where listeners can ask questions and receive real-time responses.
An AI-Powered Interactive Radio
In the app, each host is designed to make each session feel interactive by providing different AI personas. Users can choose from a variety of AI personalities, each reflecting different cultural backgrounds.
It can act as a personalized news curator, responding to queries tailored to the user’s interests and sourced from trusted news outlets. During the event, will.i.am asked the app for nearby skincare stores, and the AI instantly recommended a Sephora place, demonstrating the app’s location-based personalization.
The company collaborated with content creators “to curate and publish stations with the latest and freshest news from culture, sports, tech, politics, and more.” The company also published a 2-minute demo for this technology on YouTube.
The FYI app is developed by FYI.AI, a company founded by will.i.am in 2020. The majority of the nine stations currently available were developed by the FYI.AI team. Will.i.am mentions future prospects will include collaborations with creators from various sectors within the entertainment and media industries.
The team is already exploring a partnership with the media platform Earn Your Leisure, utilizing one of their stations as a replacement for the traditional pamphlet or email when announcing lineups for an event. The current event they are promoting is the organization’s upcoming “Invest Fest” conference in Atlanta. Will.i.am explained that organizers will be able to feed all the event details, and even speech content into the AI station, creating an interactable database.
A Vision for Creativity with AI
Will.i.am is no stranger to AI, having been introduced to the field in 2004 by AI expert Patrick Winston. Beyond being the frontman for the Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am is a dedicated entrepreneur aiming to pioneer the intersection of music and technology.
“Having built his music career with global music super group Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am is endeared to radio, and understands first-hand how integral it is in breaking and making the world’s most beloved music acts,” FYI said in a press release on Tuesday.
He also sees AI being advanced not just for communication; he sees its potential in creative fields like music. This is evident in his push for inclusive AI that can reflect diverse perspectives.
Will.i.am believes the app can be further integrated, aside from radio and conferencing, into fields of education as well as more of the creative industry. “It could be learning for tutors and teachers. It could be books for authors. It could be podcast segments for podcasters. It can be whatever it is the owner of that project [wants] when we partner with them to create that station,” he says.
FYI.AI sees this as a shift akin to the transition from traditional telephones to smartphones. “Because audiences now have multiple pathways to get their music, news, and information via radio, streaming services, and podcasts, the introduction of RAiDiO.FYI is the right time to harness AI and allow listeners to customize content to their liking and discover new music on their own terms, ” the company stated.
