In the WCIT 2024 conference in Yerevan, Armenia, experts have come together to discuss the impact of AI on the creative industry. This is not the first time AI developers and creatives have clashed; with many lawsuits surrounding copyright infringement issues during the AI model training process.
Of course, one of the primary concerns would surround whether AI has the capacity to replace humans when it comes to creative work. In recent years, AI has shown signs of creativity with tools like suno AI that has allowed machines to even compose complex musical compositions in a matter of seconds.
But can the product created by these machines beat the real deal? The quick answer is no!
Creativity is something AI cannot possess
Armenian musician and producer Nick Agibyan Candidly expressed how AI is able to do everything he is currently doing as a music producer. He shared how he recently heard a track that literally gave him goosebumps, only to later realise that that work was created by AI.
Matthias Roder, an award-winning music and technology strategist, also noted the rapid development of the music industry. But Roders notes that the creativity element which is essential to creating good music is something that AI can never possess.
He would thus argue that AI can never really replace humans; rather, he would imagine a future where AI would be helping us to create better music rather than replacing us.
Prominent Armenian composer and conductor Sergey Smbatyan also concur with that sentiment, adding that AI would help musicians to be productive by offloading the mundane and routine tasks to the AI while allowing the musicians to focus on the more valuable aspects of their work.
In musical terms, humans still hold the conductor's baton to generate unique visions that define the vast capabilities of the human mind, while AI can manage the rest.
Is AI capable of creating music that touches emotions?
Another critical question would be " Can AI create music with emotions that can touch the heart of its audiences?" The answer is yes.... But artificially.
Roder explains that the primary seat of emotion in music is really in the audience. When you listen to music that moves you, this is where emotion comes to life.
AI can mimic this process by applying patterns that have worked in the past to create certain emotions to new inventions in music and making use of this knowledge of how music can stir emotions in the listeners.
But he says that even this process would require guidance from its human masters.
"AI and music are always a rather dry thing where you analyze patterns that have been used in compositions in the past, and then you turn that into something exciting when the machine interacts with human creators."
Hence, he believes that AI is the greatest educational tool that we have, as well as a great tool for stimulating musical creativity.
Anais
