The new world of music creation has arrived.
Looking at the work of Anonymous DJ SPLY85, who combines his passion for music and tech to create some of today’s most dynamic house beats, you can see it in a stunning new way. In his view, AI is a tool to augment and enhance the creative process, not a replacement for it.
“Human creativity is key to AI-created musical compositions,” SPLY85 explains. “AI-generated music is trained on human-made music; our creative choices when selecting that data significantly impact our compositions. The creative decisions we make while designing and fine-tuning the algorithms and parameters of AI systems also shape the music. The interaction between human creativity and AI-generated music is complex and dynamic, with each influencing the other in various ways.”
The musical community’s response to composing with artificial intelligence is mixed. Some musicians and producers view AI as a valuable tool, unlocking new forms of inspiration and creativity. Others warn opening the door to AI is the end to musical individuality and authenticity. As technology advances, the debate grows louder.
Interestingly enough, SPLY85 does not think of himself as a musician. Rather, he describes himself as “a computer scientist and music enthusiast.” Furthermore, he admits that despite AI’s potential, it cannot replicate the creativity of human musicians.
“AI has come a long way in generating music that mimics various styles and genres,” observes SPLY85, “but it lacks the depth of emotion and human connection that is integral to great music.”
Because AI-generated music is based on patterns and statistical analysis, it lacks the ability to express the full range of human emotions. In many cases, the compositions sound predictable or formulaic without the spontaneity of human intuition and improvisation.
The collaboration between human musicians and AI systems is a creative partnership that blurs the lines between humans and machines. “Ultimately, AI has the potential to augment and enhance the creative process for musicians in exciting and innovative ways,” says SPLY85. “But remember: AI-generated music is only as good as the data and algorithms we train it on. Human creativity and emotion will always play a crucial role in the creation of great music.”
AI systems continue to improve and evolve, but it will be some time before they replicate the range of human creativity in music.
“You hear the difference between works composed by AI and works composed by humans because of the process,” says SPLY85. “AI compositions are generated algorithmically, while human compositions are created through technical skill, intuition, and emotional expression. AI compositions are generated based on a statistical analysis of existing music, while human musicians are capable of creating original compositions. AI compositions are generated from pre-defined parameters, while human musicians improvise and change compositions based on real-time creative choices.”
Predictions point to AI playing a growing role in the future of music creation. AI systems are becoming rapidly more advanced and capable of generating increasingly sophisticated music. For example, Google recently announced the upcoming release of MusicLM, a program allowing users to generate original music based on a type-written prompt.
As these innovations grow in both number and popularity, the future is likely to find more and more human musicians collaborating with AI systems during the creative process. The coming years will bring technologies that use AI to generate and manipulate music in new ways. In addition, AI-powered music creation tools will become more accessible to a wider range of people, allowing a more significant number to explore their musical creativity.
“Overall, the future of AI and music creation is exciting and holds great potential for innovation and growth,” remarks SPLY85. “I don’t see AI replacing human musicians, but I do see it playing an increasingly important role in shaping the future of music and musical expression. AI is a tool, not a replacement. It will always be limited by the data and algorithms it is trained on, but it can provide new forms of inspiration and creativity for human musicians.”