By Genevieve Rios-Zamora and Gianna Lara, Staff Writers
Music is an expressive art form that millions of people enjoy, and as generative AI’s influence grows, the authenticity of modern melodies are put to question.
AI is a tool implemented into every aspect of our lives. From 2012 to the present year, AI has quickly gained traction, becoming more advanced as time goes by. In the past it was common to find AI in personalized movie recommendations from streaming platforms, or even the basic GPS mapping systems on your phone. Now, new developments have been made in the technological world that threaten creative and individual thinking.
Generative AI is a rapidly evolving technology. It is a digital tool that fabricates a response depending on the prompt assigned to it through its engine. It is trained using existing media, like books or videos to more effectively help its consumers. The use of AI is controversial, however, because its users can abuse its ability to complete school work for them or use it as a means to create “AI art.”
For centuries, music has been considered a unifying art form, transcending boundaries of language and culture. For example, a song in a foreign language may still trigger an emotional response because of how it was sung or how the instrumentals were played, regardless of one actually understanding the lyrics.
Music is a creative way to celebrate the emotions and experiences that draw humanity together, regardless of age, nationality, or gender. It is then very understandable that some are deeply against how generative AI is being included into such a humane, and expressive space.
The emotional value of music isn’t the only thing being tampered with, but the profitability of it. The companies Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell noticed that royalties they own have been unlawfully fed to the Claude chatbot to be used for its database. Anthropic, the company funding the Claude chatbot, wanted to train its model using music. Company workers supposedly took pirated music to teach Claude Models to know how to answer prompts with lyrics of popular songs for music themed prompts.
By doing this, Anthropic allegedly cheated Sony Music and Warner Chappell out of the potential money that could’ve been given to credit the artists. Instead of rewarding them, their musical talents were handed out for free, to be used by people who wouldn’t acknowledge the value of their art.
If this lawsuit was won by the plaintiff, Anthropic would have to pay a hefty fine for infringing and altering musical artwork.
Another recent controversy involves the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) banning heavily AI produced music from their charts and making them ineligible for awards. The decision was made after a cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” featuring AI generated vocals and instrumentals landed on Australia’s music charts, stirring debate on whether or not the song was deserving of the same recognition as non-AI generated music.
To clarify, ARIA did not ban AI generated music entirely, but rather songs that either heavily or entirely relied on AI in its production. Regardless, many celebrated how this decision pushed to protect human creativity in a time where AI artwork is normalized.
Although the inclusion of AI in the music industry may be inevitable, not all hope is lost for musicians and music lovers alike. For now, the industry seems to be siding with human creativity, slowing down AI’s invasion in artistic spaces.