What does the sound of a bathroom drain have in common with a song? Nothing, usually. But not according to Google Now Playing
Technology has made huge strides in recent years. In the field of seven notes, there are applications that can recognize a piece of music just from a hint of melody. A very good "ear" but that, in some cases, can make some gaffe as in the case of Google Now Playing: here's what happened.
The news comes from Reddit, the popular online forum, in which a user has shared the bizarre screenshot coming from his Pixel 6 Pro. The application installed on the member's device would have an obvious problem with a song by one of the most successful British artists of the last decade, Adele. In fact, the device would confuse the sound of the bathroom drain for "Rumor Has It", contained in one of the interpreter's most famous albums, "21".
Google Now Playing, how does it work?
First released exclusively for the Pixel, Mountain View's smartphones, and now available for other Android models, the Google Now Playing app automatically activates whenever there is music playing in the background. Once the song has been intercepted, the program starts a quick search in the available library to find a valid association and provide the user with the name of the song and the interpreter, showing everything on the screen of the phone.
Never before has the artificial intelligence taken a colossal mistake. The incredulity of the user, referring to the artist who recently even managed to change Spotify's mind about the methods of listening to the albums, was such as to push him to immortalize the event with a snapshot of the screen, ended immediately on Reddit where, however, he found many similar cases ready to trigger the perplexity - and hilarity - of those present.
Google Now Playing, other weird errors
If the download, according to Now Playing, unmistakably resembles Adele's song, other redditors have found "bloopers" in the recognition of other compositions. There are those who have discovered, for example, how the electric toothbrush used to brush their teeth reminds their Pixel of "Dream of Arrakis", composed by Hans Zimmer for the soundtrack of "Dune" and those who have associated the sound of the same to "The Great Beyond" by REM, at least according to the Pixel 3 in their possession.
Another wacky case is the one that features Barry Manilow's "Copacabana", recognized in Forza Horizon 5; the fact wouldn't be anything strange if it weren't for the fact that there's no trace of it throughout the video game. A rather confused Pixel 5, on the other hand, would repeatedly swap a jackhammer for compositions by groups such as Imagine Dragons, Dresden Dolls and The White Stripes.
And the screams of some X Factor contestants? According to another Pixel 3, they must have sounded identical to "With or Without You," a historic song by Irish band U2. All errors, these, but that do not diminish the usefulness of the feature: after all, some mistakes, even if extravagant and curious as these, you can pass even the best ones.