The Future of AI Music

Polyphonic
28 Jun 202419:10

TLDRThe video explores the impact of AI on the future of music, discussing its integration into the industry and the ethical concerns it raises. It highlights AI's potential to revolutionize music, despite current limitations, and how artists are experimenting with AI to create novel art forms. The script also touches on the historical context of technological shifts in music and the unique opportunities AI presents for artistic expression.

Takeaways

  • 🎶 AI music is becoming increasingly prevalent in the industry, influencing creativity and raising questions about its role in art.
  • 🔮 Despite the ongoing culture war around AI, its integration with music continues to grow, with major artists and platforms embracing it.
  • 🤖 Ethical concerns surrounding AI in music include intellectual property, data ownership, and biases, but these issues have not halted its adoption.
  • 🎵 The history of music is closely tied to technological advancements, suggesting AI will likely lead to the next significant musical movement.
  • 👨‍🎤 AI is not inherently creative, but it can be a tool for human creativity, similar to how a sampler or a camera is used in music production.
  • 🔄 AI's potential for creativity lies in its ability to rearrange and mashup existing elements, creating new associations and emotional responses.
  • 📚 Experimentation with AI in music, such as using it to write lyrics or generate unique sounds, is opening up new avenues for artistic expression.
  • 🎨 AI's 'failures' or inaccuracies can lead to interesting and novel outcomes in art and music, much like the signature sounds of past technological limitations.
  • 🎥 The visual language of music is also being transformed by AI, with album covers and music videos exploring the uncanny and surreal.
  • 👽 AI's ability to generate eerie and absurd outputs can reflect modern existence, offering a new way to express the human experience.
  • 🔮 The future of AI in music may not necessarily follow traditional genre patterns but will likely continue to evolve and influence how we create and consume music.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic discussed in the video script about AI and music?

    -The main topic discussed in the video script is the impact of AI on the future of music, including its potential to revolutionize the industry and the ethical questions it raises.

  • Why did the author decide to hold off on making the video initially?

    -The author initially decided to hold off on making the video because a culture war broke out around AI, and they were tired and chose to sit that one out.

  • What role has AI played in the music industry recently?

    -AI has increasingly become a part of everyday life for music fans and artists, with big-name artists working with AI and AI-generated music appearing in various platforms, indicating a significant role in the industry.

  • What are some of the ethical questions raised by the use of AI in music?

    -Some of the ethical questions include intellectual property rights, carbon footprints, data ownership, and biases that may be baked into AI systems.

  • How does the author view the relationship between technology and major genre shifts in music history?

    -The author views technology as a direct influencer of major genre and cultural shifts in music history, with each new technology bringing about a new era in music.

  • What is the author's opinion on AI's creative capabilities in comparison to human creativity?

    -The author believes that while AI can't be creative in the same way humans are, it can be a tool for human creativity, much like a sampler or a camera, and that people can be creative with AI.

  • Can you provide an example of how an artist has used AI to create music?

    -One example is the band Everything Everything, where frontman Jonathan Higgs worked with a researcher to develop a generative AI program that helped write lyrics for their 2022 album 'Raw Data Feel'.

  • What is the author's view on the current state of AI music in terms of its creativity?

    -The author finds most AI music to be bland and uninteresting, as it often represents people using the technology as designed, without breaking it or pushing its limits.

  • How does the author suggest we should approach the use of AI in art and music?

    -The author suggests that we should find exciting new ways to use AI and to break it, exploring its potential to speak to the strange, terrifying, and hilarious realities of modern existence.

  • What is the potential future the author envisions for AI in music?

    -The author envisions a future where AI tools are an everyday part of the creative process for artists, who will use them to express themselves and comment on the human experience in new and innovative ways.

  • Why does the author believe that AI is not the death of art or music?

    -The author believes that AI is not the death of art or music because humans will always create art, and with new tools like AI, they have more ways to express themselves and push creative boundaries.

Outlines

00:00

🎵 AI and the Future of Music 🚀

The script discusses the impact of generative AI on the music industry, noting its increasing presence in everyday life and its potential to revolutionize creativity. The author reflects on the culture war around AI and their hesitation to engage due to exhaustion. Despite the ongoing debate, AI's role in music is undeniable, with major artists and platforms utilizing it. The author acknowledges the lack of compelling AI music but attributes this to the novelty of the technology rather than its creative limitations. Ethical concerns such as intellectual property, carbon footprints, and biases in AI are mentioned but not deeply explored, as the focus shifts to the historical context of technological advancements in music and the inevitability of AI's integration into the industry.

05:01

🤖 The Creative Potential of AI in Music 🎼

This paragraph delves into the creative capacity of AI, challenging the notion that AI lacks originality by comparing it to other creative tools like samplers and cameras. The author draws a parallel between AI and the art of collage, arguing that AI can be a medium for creative expression when used appropriately. Examples of artists like Everything Everything and Holly Herndon are highlighted for their innovative use of AI in music creation. The paragraph also touches on the subtler uses of AI in music production, such as noise cleanup and beat enhancement. However, the author criticizes the majority of AI-generated art for its lack of depth and originality, advocating for the exploration of AI's 'failures' to create something truly novel and expressive.

10:03

🎭 Embracing AI's 'Artificial Stupidity' in Art 🤹

The script explores the idea of using AI's imperfections to create unique and intriguing art forms. It references Brian Eno's perspective on embracing the 'artificial stupidity' of computers to foster creativity. Examples of artists like Tim Hecker and Tom Hulkenberg are given, who have deliberately used AI's mistakes to their advantage in their compositions. The author also discusses the potential of AI to capture the texture of an era through its shortcomings, as well as its ability to evoke emotional responses and comment on modern existence. The use of AI in visual art and music videos is highlighted, emphasizing the eerie and surreal qualities that stem from AI's failures to replicate reality perfectly.

15:04

🌐 The Role of AI in a Post-Truth World 🌍

The final paragraph contemplates the role of AI in the current socio-political climate, where shared realities are increasingly fragmented. It suggests that AI can serve as a tool for exploring the intersection of humanity and technology. The author expresses optimism about the future of AI in art, envisioning a generation that will grow up with AI as a common tool, potentially leading to new forms of artistic expression. The paragraph concludes by addressing the fear-mongering around AI's impact on art and creativity, asserting that humans will continue to create art with the help of new technologies. The author also promotes the importance of staying informed about AI developments and ends with a sponsorship note for Ground News, emphasizing the value of media literacy.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Generative AI

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can create new content, such as music, art, or text, rather than just recognizing or analyzing existing content. In the context of the video, generative AI is central to the discussion on how AI is influencing the creation and future of music. The script mentions that generative AI started to take the internet by storm and is now increasingly part of everyday life for many people, including its role in music creation.

💡Culture War

A 'culture war' typically denotes a conflict between different cultural or ideological groups within a society, often regarding values and beliefs. In the script, the term is used to describe the divisive debates that have arisen around the use of AI in creative fields, including music, where some view it as a threat to traditional art forms, while others see it as an opportunity for innovation.

💡AI Music

AI Music is music that is composed, produced, or influenced by artificial intelligence. The script discusses the increasing prevalence of AI in music, with AI-generated beats and voice mashups becoming common, and the technology playing a significant role in the music industry. The video explores the potential of AI in music, questioning whether it can be considered 'good' or 'art', and how it might evolve to be more than just a mimic of human creativity.

💡Ethics of AI

The ethics of AI encompass the moral principles and guidelines that should govern the development and use of artificial intelligence. The script touches on various ethical concerns related to AI in music, such as intellectual property rights, carbon footprints, data ownership, and biases in AI algorithms. These issues are important to consider as AI technology becomes more integrated into creative processes.

💡Intellectual Property

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols, names, images, and phrases used in commerce. In the video script, intellectual property is mentioned as a complex and nuanced issue in the context of AI music, raising questions about who owns the rights to AI-generated content and how it should be protected or compensated.

💡Collaboration with AI

Collaboration with AI in the script refers to the process where artists and musicians work alongside AI systems to create music. Examples given include the use of AI to generate lyrics or to create deep-fake voices, illustrating a future where AI and human creativity blend to produce novel and interesting outcomes in music.

💡Moral Panic

Moral panic describes a widespread fear, often an irrational one, that arises from the belief that the prevailing social values are under threat from the actions or behavior of a certain group or element within society. The script uses the term to describe the reactions to new technologies in music history, including AI, which have often been met with skepticism and concern about their impact on traditional music and culture.

💡AI Mashups

AI Mashups in the context of the video refers to the creation of new music or art by combining different existing elements using artificial intelligence. The script discusses how AI can be used to create mashups that are not just reiterations of existing music but can introduce new and unique combinations, pushing the boundaries of creativity.

💡Deep Fake

Deep fake technology uses AI to create realistic but fake images, videos, or sounds, often by superimposing existing images or voices onto others. In the script, deep fake is mentioned in relation to music, where AI can be used to create a version of an artist's voice or to generate new vocal performances that mimic existing styles.

💡AI Noise Cleanup

AI Noise Cleanup refers to the use of AI algorithms to remove unwanted noise or distortion from audio recordings, improving their clarity and quality. The script mentions this technology as an example of how AI is already being integrated into the post-production process in music studios.

💡Procedurally Generated Music

Procedurally generated music is music that is created using algorithms and rules set by a programmer or artist, rather than being composed in a traditional linear fashion. The script cites Brian Eno's work with generative music apps as an example, where the music can be infinitely varied and unique, reflecting a new approach to creating and experiencing music.

Highlights

The impact of generative AI on the music industry, potentially leading to the biggest changes since file sharing.

AI's role in the Kendrick Drake Feud and its increasing presence in everyday music consumption.

Ethical questions surrounding AI in music, including intellectual property, carbon footprints, and biases.

The inevitability of AI's widespread adoption despite ethical concerns due to convenience.

Historical parallels between technological advancements and genre shifts in music history.

Moral panics around new technologies, including John Philip Sousa's fear of recording technology.

The current state of AI music as being bland and lacking creativity due to its mimicry of human cultural perceptions.

Collage as an artistic medium and its comparison to AI in terms of reusing and rearranging existing elements.

Innovative approaches to AI in music, such as Everything Everything's use of AI to write lyrics from diverse text sources.

The potential for AI to blend with traditional creativity, as seen in Holly Herndon's AI projects.

AI's role in post-production, such as noise cleanup technology contributing to new Beatles songs.

The lack of interest in AI-generated art that simply imitates human creativity without adding novelty.

Brian Eno's perspective on embracing the 'artificial stupidity' of computers for creative purposes.

AI's potential to capture the texture of an era through its shortcomings, as seen in the works of 10 Tricks Point Never.

The use of AI to create uncanny and eerie visuals in album art and music videos, reflecting modern realities.

Brian Eno's experiments with generative music and the creation of a documentary with endless variations.

The future of AI in music as a tool for self-expression and commentary on the human experience.

The importance of media literacy and the role of Ground News in providing objective news analysis.