Part 1
Hey All, just listened to a cool podcast episode discussing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in music. It was hosted by Derringer Discoveries. They certainly are not shying away from a controversial subject. Check it out here: EP85: The Rise of AI in Music: Meet The Velvet Sundown.
Here are my early thoughts on this subject for the curious.
In copyright law, the idea of transformative use (especially in the U.S.) allows creators to build on previous works in a way that adds new meaning or function. However, if a song sounds too close to the original—melodically, rhythmically, or atmospherically—it’s no longer transformative. It’s derivative.
AI makes it very easy to walk—and cross—that line.
I think AI music in the near future will be "clinically" as good or even better than solely human created music. However, I do not think this is the real question at hand. The question is what discriminates the very line between copying another creation verse using other music as inspiration (see transformative definition above). This ethical line will be a challenge to define I fear and those folks busy creating original stuff will prob be on the losing end of the stick for the time being. Hopefully not forever.
Rest assured that bigger corporate powers will quickly find a way to use this ethical gray zone to their profitable advantage at the expense of the "little" folks trying to nurture imperfect, edgy, yet often beautiful art into the world at the pace of happy snails. There will be much more profit margin in companies using AI for that next hit if they can. It is much faster. Ultimately, consumer taste and tolerance will decide.
Humans, in the aggregate, like things fast, cheap and easy. It will be interesting to see where this all leads but I hope that humans continue to stay inspired to create things using their own hands and their own minds. I hope that future art is not dulled into a tasteless, soulless, colorless derivative mush by AI if the human magic that enabled it to be so good in the first place is deadened and dulled over time as humans lose enthusiasm to create. Our grandchildren's hearts and minds will inherit and be influenced by AI for better or worse. Let's all work to make it better.
Have a great day.
Dave
Go to my second article of the series here: Part 2.
