Spotify CEO: AI now writes and deploys code, engineers only review

Honk AI not only writes code, but also helps fix bugs, add new feature and can even deploy code in real time. This means developers at Spotify no longer write code but instruct AI on how to do the task and simply approve or reject the output.

“As a concrete example, an engineer at Spotify on their morning commute from Slack on their cell phone can tell Claude to fix a bug or add a new feature to the iOS app. And once Claude finishes that work, the engineer then gets a new version of the app pushed to them on Slack on their phone, so that they can merge it to production – all before they even arrive at the office,” explains Gustav.

Spotify says its Honk AI system has greatly helped developers speed up coding and deployment.

“We foresee this not being the end of the line in terms of AI development, just the beginning,” Gustav added.

Soderstrom went on to say that Spotify currently has the “technology and capabilities ready” for artists to generate derivative work like remixes, using AI and asked music labels to strike licensing agreements.

While AI is doing much of the hard work, Spotify has clarified that engineers still have a role in the company. Instead of writing repetitive pieces of code, developers are now reviewing AI-generated code and focusing more on architecture and product decisions.