Music therapy platform uses AI to aid those suffering from cognitive decline

Unlike traditional streaming services, which rely on collaborative filtering, the platform will use input from users to create personalised, evolving playlists

Spotted:  Muru Music Health is preparing to launch an AI music therapy platform to help those suffering from cognitive decline to use music to keep their brain active. The platform provides access to a catalogue of a million songs, the majority of which were released before the 1980s. 

With dementia, areas of the brain shut down and become less active. Muru Music founder Nicc Johnson explained how the idea is that “…music can stimulate those areas again. Neurologists, data scientists, and researchers have long known that if you listen to a particular song that you know from the past, it can trigger your memory and emotions at the same time”.

The web-based platform, which has been built on Google Cloud, uses technology the company has dubbed as AI Music Brain. AI Music Brain is a  human-assisted AI system that analyses huge quantities of music to find similarities based on personal music taste. This is very different from most streaming services today, which look at the aggregate of millions of users to recommend music to you.

However, Muru relies directly on the user’s individual input. Customers can provide feedback by hearting or disliking specific songs and they can also write comments. All of this is then translated to see how it relates to the vibe of the music. The result is a dynamic playlist that keeps updating and evolving based on the user’s feedback. 

Muru Music Health is currently in the beta phase and is scheduled to launch in September 2020. Johnson said the long term vision is to eventually expand the platform so it can be used in other medical areas, such as mental health and in supporting people’s general wellbeing.

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