I’ve been thinking of writing this blog for a few months, but have held back because I’ve had too much to say about it and wasn’t sure if I could write it in a concise way.  But in the end, I decided I’d try and get all my thoughts down regardless!

Anyone that has been within earshot of me in the past two years will have heard me moaning about the use of AI in music.  

It has been bubbling away in the background for a while, but seems to have leapt forward into mainstream consciousness over the past year or so.

In fact, it’s already everywhere.  I hear AI voiceovers on videos, and see AI posts on social media, and AI images on the internet.

People are relying on AI more and more for every aspect of their life, and that worries me.  If we become completely reliant on computers, it will leave us in a very vulnerable position.

But this is a music blog, and it’s AI in music that I want to talk about.

AI and Creativity

I was recently chatting with some people about a song we were writing and someone, quite innocently, said, “Why don’t we get AI to write a bridge?”.

Well, I ranted for quite while over that one.  Are we that lazy that we’re going to get a computer to actually write the song for us?  Is this what it’s come to? 

Don’t get me wrong, I think AI has its uses.  If it can help fix global warming or come up with new cures for cancer more quickly, then that’s amazing and should be applauded.

But can anyone tell me why it’s going for creativity first?   Creativity is a beautifully human thing and it seems such a shame to have an algorithm taking over from the people that are quietly creating art and music.

This surely seems like a solution to a problem that was never there.

Someone (I can’t remember who) recently said: “AI is supposed to do the boring stuff so that humans can concentrate on the fun things in life, like music.  But AI is doing all the fun stuff, and leaving us to sort out the tedious tasks.”

AI and Musicians

AI is being fed music from millions of songs (none of which have been consented to), mashes them up and uses the data to create millions more.

The problem with that is that it is taking jobs away from actual musicians.

At the time of writing, I’ve not been affected too badly, although the ambient music I’ve been getting some income from has been replaced on Spotify playlists by AI-generated ambient music.

But if something isn’t done soon, then the future for most musicians, from starters to big names, will be very bleak.

Why Is It Happening?

It’s not like we can look to our leaders for support.  Governments seem to be siding with big tech companies and putting AI at the forefront of everything, whether or not they have any real benefit to people.

And some of the reasoning is suspect:

Mikey Shulman, CEO of Suno AI, claimed that Suno is needed because “it’s not enjoyable to make music anymore”.

Really?  If that’s the case, then why are millions and millions of people around the world still doing it?

Why do people come to my studio to record their songs?

Why do they write songs in the first place?

Why do people, young and old, learn to play instruments, in every single country you can think of?

Are all these people being pressured into making music?  No, they’re doing it because they want to, and because they love music and they love creating it.

Will I Be Using It?

My theory is that every time you use AI, in whatever context, you’re one step closer to taking a job from a human.

So, I will not be engaging with AI.  I won’t use ChatGPT for answers.  I won’t use anything but my own brain to write blogs and social media posts.   I won’t be using AI images.  I won’t be getting an AI girlfriend any time soon (my wife might have a few things to say about that anyway).  

If that makes me come across as a luddite, I don’t care.

But, most of all, I won’t be using AI in my music.  Not for instrumentation, not for lyrics, not for structures. 

I really like the challenge of writing a song, or creating a piece of music, of producing an artist’s song.  It’s like a puzzle; and creating something out of nothing is very rewarding.

And all humans create differently; every musician has a different set up intrinsically human idiosyncrasies and tastes and skills – which is why you might enjoy music from one artist and not another.

But if everything is being melded together and electronically spewed out for your tastes, that is going to become boring for everyone very quickly.

Everyone, that is, apart from the tech companies who will be rolling in even more cash.

What Next?

So what next?  People say that live music won’t be affected, but it already is!  Look at Abba Voyage: the band members can sit at home raking in the money whilst their avatars do all the work.  

It can’t be long until other big bands and artists go the same way.

My wife has an upbeat attitude to it.  She says, if AI starts to take over, it’s a computer, so just unplug it!

I really wish I could.