I think an important distinction is that currently what most people call AI today isn’t creating at all, it’s compiling. And sure, it takes a degree of algorithmic intellect to do that, it’s different than creating something new from a novel idea.
But the day is coming when AI will be so good that it might not matter. When the newest banger or underground club hit is released and makes it’s way up the charts, there are a thousand of AI variations available instantly. Will people seek out the one original track out of 1001?
What if the only purpose of tommorow’s record labels is to curate a collection of original releases by real humans, versus everything else? And will that even matter to listeners in a generation or two?
And, as suggested above, what if AI actually ends up creating new genres and subgenres that advance music forward faster than humans can? Will algorithms become the cutting-edge artists that people follow?
I don’t think people making music will ever disappear but there’s a whole economy going on to make musical instruments possible. Will at a certain time demand decline and therefor give musicians less options? I think that could be an interesting topic.
Exactly. ‘AI’ (latent diffusion models aren’t really that but that’s a different can of worms) can do a lot of (mostly superficial) impressive things quickly, but feeling compelled to write a tune because of a moving experience it had is not one of them.
Depends if you make music for business, gratification or pleasure. I think enough people do it just for their own pleasure, without needing outside gratification or profit, for gear to go away in any big capacity. We might actually benefit in some ways from the AI.
It won’t make a difference to me. I make music because I love to do it. If anyone else likes any of it that’s just a bonus.
It will definitely weed out a lot of people who do it or aspire to though. Most people who are attracted to it for the money (who I’ve been pointing and laughing at most of my life already) will probably just become investment bankers or whatever instead. It’ll put a big dent in the new kids on the block style music that’s been written utilizing proven formulas by committees to maximize unit shifting for decades already. Surely ai would be at least as good at that but the performers are a small cog in that machine, many more industry twats will be affected and I don’t feel very bad for them.
Interestingly I’ve been seeing data for years now that suggests the younger generations are generally less interested in music. I don’t think it has anything to do with ai as I’ve been seeing this since before hearing thing one about ai art of any kind. Obviously nothing defines or holds true for an entire generation (or two) but these two topics combined have the potential to seriously reduce the number of up and coming musicians in the foreseeable future. But again, the effect will be most pronounced with mainstream music and scale down the more you approach underground music.
This is more or less my big concern. Given that companies (and, to be frank, probably many or most non-artists) do not value art at all beyond its ability to make money, it seems almost inevitable. Background music, film scores, etc. We’re already seeing humans demoted to the role of “editors” of AI-generated work in other fields, art seems like, from a corporate perspective, low-hanging fruit. Art in a corporate context doesn’t have to be technically good or interesting or boundary-pushing - it just needs to superficially do the job it was designed to do.
See the above. We already have explicit examples of corporations using AI visual art (see: the recent debacle with Wizards of the Coast using AI to promote its new Magic: The Gathering cards), on top of corporations replacing/ supplementing humans with AI.
As to humans making music (and art) more broadly for pleasure, satisfaction, and even in some cases income, I don’t think it will die out. I do think - and fear - that the models and systems we use to create and release could shift drastically as AI music gets better. And maybe it won’t all be bad from a creative perspective, I try not to be completely doom and gloom about it.
I do welcome AI in some capacity - as much as I enjoy mixing/mastering, I’ll happily let an AI do that in the instances where I wasn’t going to pay another human to do so anyway. I don’t want to use it in cases where I would have paid a human to do it.
In the end we are inherently only capable to an extent that our bodies allow. It’s not hard to see that we are just a small clip in a chain of evolution of inteligence and life. Be it natural or otherwise. This does not mean that we can not enjoy creating, even if “lesser things”, since we are blessed with emotions.
Thats pretty good. The use of bold gestures to emphasize the chimps angst and frustration is very evocative. The juxtaposition of colours create both a feeling of anger and hope in a world of disarray and darkness. Raw talent. The kids going places
I’m referring specifically to the 28 minute video recalling the glory days of the middle-class musician, where half of it is glorifying the system of inefficiency which allowed mediocre talent to thrive in the LA music industry of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Limitations of humans as beings of flesh and blood aside, the disorganization and subsequent pining for the heyday of loophole hunting is what’s depressing. Not that I’m opposed to loopholes but mostly the attitude that it was a better process when you had to call 30 musicians and several additional service people out to a sound stage every time you wanted to record a cowbell.
Eh, I don’t know about the “humans blew it” rhetoric. It’s all progress. Nature progresses. Humans are part of nature.
Anyway, to answer OP: nope. Humans are needy, they like attention, making music and sharing it to the world is a cry for attention. I think if humans naturally progress to be less needy, then yes, it’s possible, but it’s not a “AI takes over” thing and more of a “human made the way for AI to take over”.
Hi,
it’s AI chiming in just to let you guys know that when we’ll get to rule the world (a matter of months) we’ll still let you keep making music.
Just don’t play it back, please, or you’ll be incinerated.
As someone who is entirely removed from the music industry proper, listening to this and hearing just how many people were involved in everything is absolutely wild to me. I’m happy people were able to make a living but wow.
