will.i.am siriusxm show

Will.i.am (pictured) has announced a SiriusXM show that he’ll co-host with an AI called qd.pi. Photo Credit: Aubrey Gemignani

One week after bringing music-creation capabilities to Mercedes-Benz vehicles with “Sound Drive,” Will.i.am has unveiled plans to co-host a SiriusXM program alongside an AI entity called qd.pi.

The satellite-radio company emailed Digital Music News today about the weekly series, entitled Will.i.am Presents the FYI Show, from the Black Eyed Peas founder. Scheduled to begin airing on SiriusXM’s The 10s Spot (channel 11) on Thursday, January 25th, the “interactive show” is set to “bridge together the latest in AI innovation, music, pop culture and technology,” according to the involved parties.

Particularly on the AI front – the seven-time Grammy winner Will.i.am previously discussed his view of the unprecedented technology during a DMN panel – the forthcoming program will feature SiriusXM’s “first ever AI co-host,” the Liberty Media subsidiary and the bestselling artist also emphasized.

Welcoming special guests (Xzibit during week one, Recording Academy head Harvey Mason Jr. during the second installment) on the show as well, Will.i.am and FYI-powered qd.pi. are poised to “kick off a new era in radio,” per SiriusXM.

As part of the project, the AI co-host is expected to engage directly with listeners “soon” via an offering on the aforementioned FYI, which bills itself specifically as “a communication platform designed to serve the creative community.”

Especially given the commercial prominence and reach of Will.i.am, it’ll be worth closely monitoring not only the popularity of The FYI Show, but the potential for all manner of other shows (as well as podcasts and more) to embrace AI.

Needless to say, AI hosts in radio and the overarching entertainment space won’t draw salaries, become ill, have unusually flat showings, levy complaints of any kind, take personal days, require health benefits, find trouble outside of “work” – and the disconcerting list goes on.

Regarding the breakneck speed at which the technology is developing, it was just last June that the “world’s first” AI DJ went live on a major radio station. At the time of this writing, a cursory check-in on the appropriate station uncovered a weather report from an AI meteorologist of sorts.

Earlier in January, AI music generator Splash debuted an Alexa skill with which users can create music via simple voice prompts. Also on the music side, 2023’s conclusion saw Rightsify launch Hydra, which is said to enable one to generate high-quality custom tracks based upon text inputs.