Fooled By AI
Fooled by AI! I played a video on Youtube called “Rumba Congo” apparently from 1973. I thought I was listening to a great song. Then I read the fine print:
“Warning: ‘Everything that happens on this channel is fiction. But what is truth? F*ck it, just listen.’ ”
The channel is done by Zaruret Records (also fictitious?)
I was listening to good music. One of the comments, translated from Spanish, was “This music generated by AI is literally inhuman.”
There was a long description of the fictitious group Rumba Congo with a list of songs, the makeup of the group, the band’s history, their style, and cultural impact.
Once I realized that I was listening to AI-generated music, I listened more closely. The recording was perfect; no scratches, pops, or other artifacts from poor recording technology. My experience is that the music recorded in the Congo in the 70s is far from perfect. Music from the Congo in that era is fine music, but the recording technology is far from perfect. Here is an example: Mongali by Tabu Ley Rochereau.
What does this mean for human musicians? The AI probably learned from a huge mass of recordings done by real humans. Are those real humans to be compensated? Can real humans withstand the competition from AI-generated stuff?
There is a cycle in the history of pop music since it was first recorded at the start of the 20th Century. Whenever pop became too commercialized, there was a reaction; a return to some sort of purity. Will there be a similar reaction to AI music? AI could conceivably generate a reaction to itself?
AI-Generated Art