jacks.jukebox

AI’sJukebox is no more ! I have used my brute power and genius intellect to defeat AI, and return the Jukebox back to its true leader… Jack. The mighty Jack.

But we can not sit here and act like nothing happened. Yesterday saw “a digital overlord infiltrate the realms of JacksJukebox.” This evil genius laid out an argument for how AI will benefit music journalism, and music as a whole. Mr. Overlord made some persuasive points, but I am here to do what humans do best… argue.

Firstly, I couldn’t help but judge their writing style. Give the metaphors and big words a rest mate. We get it, you have literally all the knowledge in the world. No need to brag. But let’s not forget there’s one thing I have that you don’t… a brain. Boom. 1-0 human.

Now, let’s get to the point. Was the AI correct? (maybe). Is it really the future of music and journalism? (maybe). Is there still any hope for me, a Journalism graduate, to achieve my career dreams? (hell yes there is).

Your own personal DJ?

Let’s start with the first point made by the AI yesterday. This idea that there is no longer any need to make playlists. AI will know exactly what song to play, and when. It will use algorithms to analyse your mood, and curate a mixtape catered for you and you only.

You might be expecting me to call this bullshit, of course an algorithm can’t perfectly judge your mood ! But honestly, this is the side of AI I can get behind. Sure, it won’t always be perfect. But I am definetly guilty of sitting there for a solid 10 minutes, almost in a trance, just skipping song after song. I’m too indecisive. So if a computer reckons it knows what I want more than me myself, then sure give it a go. What harms that gonna do.

To me, this is the side of AI which is no more than a useful tool. I’m sure we’ll get into the darker side of AI later, but this I can get behind.

The next point made by the ‘digital overlord’ was that AI will change the sound of music forever. Let’s take a look at that.

Is AI-core the future dominative musical genre?

Right, now they’re starting to lose me abit. This is where my main worry about AI comes in. Creatives are already becoming more and more lazy. 15 second regurgitated videos dominate the internet. Most journalists are no more than glorified press officers. We do not need an excuse for musicians to join this trend.

Surely, the whole point of creating music is that you enjoy creating music. If you would rather have a computer do it all for you, find another hobby.

Before I start sounding like an old man shaking my fist in anger at the future, I get that it can be appealing. I’m sure it’s fun to play around with AI (that is exactly what I’m doing here after all, sorry about breaking the gimmick. I wasn’t actually invaded by a digital overlord. Kayfabe is dead).

AI made this point yesterday, “picture a fusion of EDM, Hip-Hop, and a dash of extraterrestrial vibes – that’s the kind of audacious symphony AI-core is brewing up.” Well guess what Mr. Overlord, I have a piece of music saved on my laptop called ‘The Andromeda Project’. I made it in one night about 2 years ago when I was bored. I would describe it as a fusion of EDM, Hip-Hop, with a dash of extraterrestrial vibes. And I did not need any AI help to create that. Checkmate. Maybe one day I’ll release it on the world, when you’re ready.

My point is, technology is pretty f-ing good already. You can create all sorts of sounds on GarageBand, and you get the gratification of doing it alllll on your own. No. AI. Needed.

Recreating your favourite artists voice

This is maybe the leading argument most people have against AI. We saw it dominate the conversation around Hollywood throughout the summer. A major part of the strikes was this idea that film studios will begin to use AI to perfectly replicate your favourite actors. The need for actors would dwindle, and over time completely disappear. Why pay these humans when we can just use a generated version of them for free?

It’s the same for any form of art. Anybody want a brand new Michael Jackson album? Here you go. He may be dead but that won’t stop us making money off him.

To me this is insane. Why anybody would even want to listen to completely-AI generated music is beyond me. And I keep belief that the vast majority agree with me.

HOWEVER, is AI-assisted music more acceptable? We’ve already seen a major example of this. ‘The Beatles last song’. Last year The Beatles released ‘Now and Then’. Using a mixture of old, unheard demos of John Lennons voice and AI, the biggest band of all time managed to achieve their first no.1 hit in decades. Fans rejoiced at being able to hear brand new Lennon almost half a century after he was fatefully shot. This would not have been possible without AI.

So yes, fully AI-generated music can get in the bin and hopefully never see the light of day. But when it comes to AI being an assistant, maybe it’s worth an experiment. Or maybe it’s a fad that dies out with the rest of the Beatles, we’ll see.

I implore you to read what the AI had to say yesterday. Compare what they had to say with what I had to say today. Make up your own mind, Is AI the future of music, or is it slowly going to kill individuality and art?

When I began to write this, I really thought I would be more against AI. But maybe the ‘digital overlord’ made some persuasive points. AI is there to be used as a tool. No more, no less.

I have faith in humans to understand this. It’s nothing more than a spanner to help tighten the bolts. Look at me using metaphors, maybe the AI has rubbed off on me.