Latest news with #DagensNyheter
Local Sweden
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Inside Sweden: Why was Swedish media silent on citizenship freeze?
The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen argued convincingly in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week against the unjust way new citizenship rules are being applied. It was a small victory, but why did the Swedish media ignore the citizenship freeze? Advertisement The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen argued convincingly in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week against the unjust way new citizenship rules are being applied. It was a small victory, but why did the Swedish media ignore the citizenship freeze? When The Local reported on May 14th that the Migration Agency had been unable to approve citizenship applications in standard cases for a month and a half, we thought it was a fairly big story. When a post-Covid surge in passport applications led to similar delays, after all, there was uproar in the Swedish media. We shared the story with Sweden's main newswire and one of the newspapers. "You are quite right, this needs to be brought to public attention," one reporter wrote back. "I'll look into this and tell you if I get a bite." Ten days later, it looks like she didn't. Her editors, like others before them, apparently didn't see the big deal. Perhaps they judged that Sweden is only bringing its citizenship regime in line with those of its Nordic neighbours, ignoring the point that it's not so much what is being done, but how. Advertisement So it was gratifying to see The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen's call for transitional arrangements, which also drew attention to the near two-month citizenship freeze, get published as an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week. He argued that a grace period was needed to ensure that the increase in the residency requirement from five to eight years, and other new rules, did not affect people who had already applied. I hoped the article might generate at least some media reaction, but so far it hasn't and I wonder why. As a journalist with a niche audience, you risk looking a bit ridiculous railing against the national media for ignoring a story that, from your narrow perspective, is earth-shakingly important. But I do think that a near two-month freeze on citizenship approvals should at least have warranted a mention. It's not as if there's no coverage of citizenship reforms in the Swedish media. When the government this week launched a follow-on inquiry on how to strip Swedish citizenship from dual citizens who commit serious crimes, it was widely reported and debated. Is it because this will require a change to the constitution, or because of the populist appeal of stripping gang members of their passports? Or is it, perhaps, that people who already have Swedish citizenship have a greater news value than people who are only trying to get it? Advertisement What else have we been writing about? The first letters were sent out this week inviting citizenship applicants to book a 'personal appearance', which is the last stage in citizenship applications since new security arrangements were brought in on April 1st. A reader shared a copy of the letter they had received with us, so you can know what to expect. We also updated our article on how these new in-person ID checks will work. We interviewed Sasan Kazemian, the Iranian doctor who has been ordered to leave Sweden after a mix-up over his work permit application, despite passing all the language and medical knowledge exams required to practice in Sweden. It's the season of hemmafix or DIY in Sweden, when people in Sweden spend their weekends repairing, renovating and upgrading their houses and summer houses. We looked at why this is such a defining feature of life in Sweden and ran through the vocabulary you'll need to participate. It's the Stockholm Marathon this Saturday. We ran through everything you need to know about how to watch it and how traffic is being affected. More bad news on the employment front, with Volvo announcing its plans to lay off 3,000 people, mainly in Sweden. In this week's Politics in Sweden, I covered plans to realise the Sweden Democrats' plans for an idealised Sverigehus, a brawl in Brussels involving a Swedish MEP, and more besides. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Richard
The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Spotify CEO: AI to spur more music creativity, not a threat
STOCKHOLM: Artificial intelligence will encourage more people to create music in the future and is not a threat to the industry, the founder and CEO of streaming giant Spotify said. Artists using machine-learning tools to produce music have given rise to concerns about whether AI-generated music – even entirely fake artists – could one day replace human artists. "I'm mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we're just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we're entering," Daniel Ek told reporters at an Open House at the company's Stockholm headquarters this week. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and a recent book, Mood Machine, have accused Spotify of tasking a handful of producers to make thousands of songs under fake AI profiles, which the company allegedly pushed onto playlists – saving Spotify money by elbowing out real artists and their higher royalties. Spotify has denied the claims. "We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don't know. What is music?" Ek said. He recalled that electronic dance music and the DJ culture, and before that, hip hop where people sampled music, were initially not considered "real music". Noting that Mozart had to compose entire symphonies in his head, Ek said that "now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes". "The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering." "Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane," he said. "The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create," he said. Ek said he saw the development of AI in the music industry "much more as an evolution than a revolution". Spotify had 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. Ek said the company, which turned its first annual profit in 2024, now had 100 million paying subscribers in Europe alone, and hoped to one day see a billion paying users worldwide. "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers." – AFP
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
AI to spur more music creativity, not a threat: Spotify CEO
HighlightsDaniel Ek, the founder and CEO of Spotify, believes that artificial intelligence will enhance music creation rather than threaten the industry, emphasizing the exciting potential for creativity in the future. Despite accusations from Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and the book 'Mood Machine' regarding Spotify's use of AI-generated music under fake profiles, Daniel Ek has denied these claims, asserting that the company values real human artists and creators. Daniel Ek views the integration of artificial intelligence in music as an evolution rather than a revolution, stating that the tools available for music creation are lowering barriers and enabling more people to become creators. Artificial intelligence will encourage more people to create music in the future and is not a threat to the industry, the founder and CEO of streaming giant Spotify said. Artists using machine-learning tools to produce music have given rise to concerns about whether AI-generated music — even entirely fake artists — could one day replace human artists. "I'm mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we're just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we're entering," Daniel Ek told reporters at an Open House at the company's Stockholm headquarters this week. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and a recent book, "Mood Machine", have accused Spotify of tasking a handful of producers to make thousands of songs under fake AI profiles, which the company allegedly pushed onto playlists — saving Spotify money by elbowing out real artists and their higher royalties. Spotify has denied the claims. "We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don't know. What is music?" Ek said. He recalled that electronic dance music and the DJ culture, and before that, hip hop where people sampled music, were initially not considered "real music". Noting that Mozart had to compose entire symphonies in his head, Ek said that "now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes". "The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering." "Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane," he said. "The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create," he said. Ek said he saw the development of AI in the music industry "much more as an evolution than a revolution". Spotify had 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. Ek said the company, which turned its first annual profit in 2024, now had 100 million paying subscribers in Europe alone, and hoped to one day see a billion paying users worldwide. "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers."
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Tribune
AI to spur more music creativity, not a threat: Spotify CEO
AFP | Artificial intelligence will encourage more people to create music in the future and is not a threat to the industry, the founder and CEO of streaming giant Spotify said. Artists using machine-learning tools to produce music have given rise to concerns about whether AI-generated music -- even entirely fake artists -- could one day replace human artists. "I'm mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we're just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we're entering," Daniel Ek told reporters at an Open House at the company's Stockholm headquarters this week. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and a recent book, "Mood Machine", have accused Spotify of tasking a handful of producers to make thousands of songs under fake AI profiles, which the company allegedly pushed onto playlists -- saving Spotify money by elbowing out real artists and their higher royalties. Spotify has denied the claims. "We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don't know. What is music?" Ek said. He recalled that electronic dance music and the DJ culture, and before that, hip hop where people sampled music, were initially not considered "real music". Noting that Mozart had to compose entire symphonies in his head, Ek said that "now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes". "The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering." "Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane," he said. "The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create," he said. Ek said he saw the development of AI in the music industry "much more as an evolution than a revolution". Spotify had 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. Ek said the company, which turned its first annual profit in 2024, now had 100 million paying subscribers in Europe alone, and hoped to one day see a billion paying users worldwide. "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers."
Nahar Net
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Nahar Net
AI to spur more music creativity, not a threat, says Spotify CEO
by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 May 2025, 16:46 Artificial intelligence will encourage more people to create music in the future and is not a threat to the industry, the founder and CEO of streaming giant Spotify said. Artists using machine-learning tools to produce music have given rise to concerns about whether AI-generated music -- even entirely fake artists -- could one day replace human artists. "I'm mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we're just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we're entering," Daniel Ek told reporters at an Open House at the company's Stockholm headquarters this week. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and a recent book, "Mood Machine", have accused Spotify of tasking a handful of producers to make thousands of songs under fake AI profiles, which the company allegedly pushed onto playlists -- saving Spotify money by elbowing out real artists and their higher royalties. Spotify has denied the claims. "We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don't know. What is music?" Ek said. He recalled that electronic dance music and the DJ culture, and before that, hip hop where people sampled music, were initially not considered "real music". Noting that Mozart had to compose entire symphonies in his head, Ek said that "now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes". "The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering." "Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane," he said. "The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create," he said. Ek said he saw the development of AI in the music industry "much more as an evolution than a revolution". Spotify had 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. Ek said the company, which turned its first annual profit in 2024, now had 100 million paying subscribers in Europe alone, and hoped to one day see a billion paying users worldwide. "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers."
