A simple observation reveals that major figures in the tech world are all vying for a stake in artificial intelligence. The astute individual, however, asks a deeper question: does their chosen path truly hold potential? While no one can be entirely certain, one foolproof method comes to mind: look around and ask yourself—has Alphabet arrived? Is it trying to push you out? Since the launch of ChatGPT caught the Mountain View-based tech giant off guard, Alphabet has been aggressively catching up, recently displaying a relentless drive for advancement. This week, the company set its sights directly on the music industry, introducing a new feature for its Gemini chatbot capable of generating 30-second music clips with customizable lyrics and audio. This follows Gemini's technical breakthroughs in areas like image generation, which have propelled it into the top tier of chatbots. This new music generation capability is enough to cause significant concern for Spotify Technology S.A. and a host of AI music startups like Suno, Udio, and Klay—companies that have collectively raised approximately $400 million in funding. Admittedly, Alphabet has never been a dominant player in the music industry, and its YouTube Music service often flies under the radar. However, the current landscape has fundamentally changed. It's crucial to remember that Alphabet recently struck a deal with Apple to supply it with AI technology. Apple, with its deep roots in music, could potentially leverage Alphabet's AI to overcome its position as a follower to Spotify. This scenario seems as improbable as an oboist finally surpassing a violinist to secure the principal soloist chair. Broadly speaking, all audio-related AI is becoming a genuine battleground. Earlier this month, ElevenLabs, a company focused on AI voice cloning, secured funding that valued it at $11 billion, a near-quadrupling of its valuation within a year. While voice cloning and music generation are distinct, they share a core principle: for AI, generating convincing human-like audio is significantly easier than creating video content. In the AI era, Spotify Technology S.A. appears to be lagging, a fact reflected in its stock performance: its shares have fallen nearly 25% over the past year, while the Nasdaq Composite Index has risen 13%. Its advertising business continues to deteriorate, and despite heavy investment in expanding its podcast library, it faces intense competition in the podcasting space from YouTube and even Netflix. Simultaneously, its technology has stagnated, showing no substantial innovation for years. Spotify Technology S.A. recently launched an AI feature—an intelligent playlist based on natural language prompts, similar to a chatbot. However, personal testing revealed the results to be as uninspiring as a collection of old cassettes. Around the same time, Spotify Technology S.A. executives publicly boasted that their engineers hadn't manually written a single line of code in months, relying entirely on AI programming tools. This became a lasting joke on social media: yes, that much is apparent. Now, Spotify Technology S.A. and other companies are relearning a timeless adage, newly interpreted for the AI age: in the end, Alphabet spares no one.
Other notable developments this week:
The head of Snap's only noteworthy augmented reality glasses division departed following a fierce conflict with CEO Evan Spiegel. Perplexity, which was previously mired in controversy over credibility issues, announced it is shutting down its advertising business, stating that AI-generated ads are untrustworthy. One might be inclined to trust its "expert judgment" on problematic content. The Economist quipped that the world's scarcest resource is an available conference room. Technology writer Paul Ford noted: "My industry is known for rejecting people or selling things you don't need; we deserve the label 'annoyance central.' But I believe if ambient computing were better, more usable, and more reliable, people wouldn't need to rely on us anymore." The AI boom has persisted for over three years, and now every company wants to transform into an AI company, leaving us struggling within a "smart toilet economy." Wired magazine published a lengthy article that ultimately reaffirmed a well-known cliché: the office culture of tech companies is as uninhibited as the backstage of a certain type of nightclub. The radical techno-philosopher Nick Land might become the Curtis Yarvin of 2026. Prediction market Polymarket announced a partnership with Substack, proclaiming, "Journalism is better with prediction markets." One might consider starting a market betting on whether journalists meet their deadlines—it's always a gamble.