Music for Breakup Healing

In a 2018 interview, Yuval Noah Harari said that we were quickly approaching the time when the human brain would be completely hackable.

It could be possible because the actors who'd want to hack into your brain would be able to do so thanks to two unprecedented technological developments and advancements in AI. First, they would have access to your data - thoughts, ideas, and emotions expressed on social media and your other Internet activity, including search results and purchasing behavior. Second, they will have enough computing power to process the data and figure out the patterns and "points of entry" into your personality.

That interview was done long before ChatGPT went public. However, already then Harari predicted that even though there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about what AI would bring to humanity, there were also positive ways to incorporate AI into the human life. For example, in healthcare AI diagnosis could be a lot more precise and accurate than any human doctor's. Or AI could be used productively in areas where human bias can be detrimental and objectivity is required or expected (science!). Obviously, we are already using AI for some of such purposes, just two years after it was unleashed on us in the form of ChatGPT.

Or AI could be incredibly useful in the human exercise of self-learning and self-reflection (you should check how he described the Stanford experiment of using AI to predict sexual orientation in teenagers before they themselves know it, just by using photographic images). But most of all, I was impressed with his idea that AI could be used to mend people's hearts after a breakup. If, for example, an AI-powered device could be used to monitor the heart rate in all the stages of grief that people usually go through after a breakup, it could suggest certain songs to play to elevate or slow down the heart rate and to improve your mood. Because we all of course know that music has healing power.

I have decided to see if this can be done even today. I don't have an Apple Watch but I'd think it could be easily done with it as it has the capacity to monitor its owner's heart rate. So all you need to do then is to take the data from the Apple Watch when you are heartbroken, feed it to AI and ask for suggestions of the appropriate music.

I've done this second part. I fed the following prompt to ChatGPT: "Hi, I've just been dumped and am feeling brokenhearted. Could you please compile a music playlist for me that will take me through all stages of grief and help me work through my feelings and accept the situation? The playlist should be designed for a woman." ChatGPT gave me this response:

I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through this. Music can be a powerful way to help process and move through your feelings. Here's a playlist that guides you through the stages of grief, from heartbreak to acceptance, with songs that resonate with each phase. This playlist is designed to acknowledge and guide you through each stage of grief, helping you process your emotions and, eventually, find a sense of closure and hope. Take your time with it, and be kind to yourself.

I then gave another prompt: to compile a similar list for a man. Finally, I put both lists for comparison into a table below.

What I liked about this list is that it actually takes the newer model of grief that consists of not five but seven stages. Also, it seems to be pretty well designed for both men and women. I was kind of disappointed to see no songs from the Queen of Breakup Songs herself - Taylor Swift. Maybe that’s for another exercise.

What do you think?

UPD: Here is the result of the prompt about Taylor Swift's breakup songs

ChatGPT: Taylor Swift has an extensive catalog that beautifully captures the emotional journey of a breakup. Here’s a playlist curated with her songs, guiding you through the stages of grief and healing.

Stage 1: Shock and Denial

"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" - Red (Taylor's Version)

"The Moment I Knew" - Red (Taylor's Version)

"You’re Not Sorry" - Fearless (Taylor's Version)

"Back to December" - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Stage 2: Pain and Guilt

"Last Kiss" - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

"Sad Beautiful Tragic" - Red (Taylor's Version)

"White Horse" - Fearless (Taylor's Version)

"Tolerate It" - Evermore

Stage 3: Anger and Bargaining

"Picture to Burn" - Taylor Swift

"I Knew You Were Trouble" - Red (Taylor's Version)

"Better Than Revenge" - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

"Bad Blood" - 1989

Stage 4: Depression, Reflection, and Loneliness

"All You Had To Do Was Stay" - 1989

"The Archer" - Lover

"My Tears Ricochet" - Folklore

"Dear John" - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Stage 5: The Upward Turn

"Clean" - 1989

"Begin Again" - Red (Taylor's Version)

"Daylight" - Lover

"Holy Ground" - Red (Taylor's Version)

Stage 6: Reconstruction and Working Through

"Shake It Off" - 1989

"New Romantics" - 1989

"This Love" - 1989

"It's Time to Go" - Evermore

Stage 7: Acceptance and Hope

"Call It What You Want" - Reputation

"King of My Heart" - Reputation

"Long Live" - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

"You Belong With Me" - Fearless (Taylor's Version)

ChatGPT: "This playlist reflects the full spectrum of emotions post-breakup, as Taylor Swift's music deeply resonates with the highs and lows of love and heartbreak. Each song is carefully chosen to align with the stages of grief, helping you move through your feelings toward acceptance and hope."