How to use AI to decide what to watch
Epic power struggles over control of the remote have taken on a new dimension. Our entertainment landscape is full of streamers like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Prime, Tubi, Pluto, and Max, creating a promised land of abundant options. But that utopia can quickly turn into a battlefield when you and everyone else in your household disagree about what to watch on the coveted big screen.
Sure, everyone can retreat to their respective little blue light boxes and binge watch shows about middle-aged Manhattanites throwing high-class shade, or the exploits of animated, self-aware puppies enforcing the law, but there’s still something special about coming together to decide what the shared distraction will be.
This is how my text conversation with Pix started. The green bubble at the bottom reads in full: ‘None of these options are attractive. Do you have anything to show us why marriage is still a good idea?’
Social sites like Letterboxd, recommendation articles, and Reddit threads can only get you so far if you have multiple eyeballs to please. Additionally, they are often outdated when it comes to what is available where and for how long before jumping to the next service.
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That’s true Pix comes in. It’s an AI chatbot trained to make recommendations for entertainment options, including TV shows, movies, books and podcasts, to ease the push and pull of what to watch. Of course, there may still be disagreement in your household about Pix’s choices. Star Trek fans may never choose Han Solo over Mr. Spock, but Pix tries to make harmonious compromises.
How to use Pix to choose what to watch
Pix runs on a mix of custom databases and personal recommendations from users of its sister app Likewisewhich offers suggestions on what to watch and why, and was built by ex-Microsoft employees and invested in by Bill Gates.
You can go to the Samely site and search for recommendations. You’ll get a list of titles and more information about where you can watch them, but texting Pix at 550550 is much more fun. You can also access Pix via email (pix@likewise.com), the Eveneens website and the Eveneens app.
Pix responds to text messages in a friendly, conversational tone and offers a range of titles, from feature films to TV series, and can help you resolve any arguments about what to watch, listen to or read, via the tailor-made suggestions made.
Later in the conversation, after one of Pix’s recommendations included the sitcom Modern Family, I asked for some specific episodes.
I put the tool to the test by making up a completely fake scenario that will absolutely never happen, in which my partner and I are mad at each other. I tasked Pix with jumping through several hoops to find the perfect things to look at that would restore harmony to the home.
Pix made some suggestions for recent and older titles that could help improve the atmosphere, and when I expressed my dissatisfaction with the performance, Pix came back with a new set of options.
When pressed further to offer specific episodes of the TV show Modern Family, Pix suggested a few that would set the right tone for a makeup session.
Pix is free to use and, from my browsing, seems to maintain a very up-to-date database. This makes it a lot easier to find where to watch everything that’s recommended, especially when time is of the essence.
