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AI on Wikiloops a no-go?

AI on Wikiloops a no-go?

MySounds posted on May 21, 2024 #1
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(Edited title and this post in light of the following discussion)

This might become a longer rant which should be seen as a warning that the reader will probably come across the occasional f-word and might also remark on the total absence of logic and sense.

The trigger for this rant came from Dorothy when she had an AI tool create some vocals that sounded quite similar to what we`ve heard here on hundreds of popular and well-received tracks from an entity called Shi. I listened to the track Dorothy uploaded and even liked what I heard. But 10 minutes later I was very angry and disgusted, mostly at myself I hasten to add. I was taken for a fool and Dorothy showed me how easy it was.

By way of background, I do have some insights into the technological aspects of AI as well as AI applications. I actually started my doctoral thesis on the development and use of neural networks in human decision making and was the head of a research lab on IT-based group support systems. (Sounds boring? I thought so too after some years and went off to do something different.)

I don`t subscribe to conspiracy theories, I am not a fanatic about anything (apart from Arsenal Football Club) and my earth is not flat. But what is important to me are emotions.

So, music.

Remember Frank Farian and Milli Vanilli? Sold millions of units in the 80s though all the singing was done by the producer. Big scandal at the time. But…someone sang. And even if Frank thought that he needed a front of mimes because his sex appeal to the target audience was less than zero (he was right) it was still a human creation and going by the success of Milli Vanilli their target audience enjoyed a couple of years of wet dreams – only to scream murder once they found out that they would never have an affair with Robbie and Co. They fell for emotions that were created by someone else. They wanted to believe that the young, good-looking mimes were laying it on for every single individual fan.

Fast forward to 2024. It seems we have now become proud that we can get machines to fake what we used to expect from humans. So what has changed? The answer I think is simple. To quote Ricky Gervais “We fuckin` don`t care anymore”. All we want is the end-product. No buy-in, no commitment, no emotional attachment. Which is all the more easier to achieve when there is no artist to actually become attached to.

When Ernie (just to take him as one of the many examples on Wikiloops) applies his low-end magic it`s not only the output that puts value to it but also the input, how he creates what he creates. Which is really the nub of it all. It`s the combination of who does what with which result. All three components must tick the boxes before I allow the result to affect me, before I am able to open up to the experience and feel something.

The creation and delivery of a track is the emotional carrier from one human to another. It`s an “I could feel that too” offer. The same goes for sounds. Take Xavi`s typical guitar sound and style. It`s what I`ll always associate with him. Unmistakable like a calling-card from him, the sound is his voice. He is speaking to me. And I`m listening to him. But I only listen when someONE talks to me. I don`t listen to machines (in a social context).

So when someone uploads some vocals which were AI generated, I just don`t fucking care that it was some carbon-based lifeform that pressed the button or built the tool. At the end of the day I want to see the singer either shed tears on stage because she feels what she is singing or have an orgasm. And frankly, watching an AI generated persona cry just doesn`t do it for me. The technology behind it is amazing but my emotional response is zero. Or do you get off when a machine writhes in voltage-induced extacy?

I wonder how many people have subscribed to playlists on Spotify that are made up of AI-generated tunes (with Spotify pocketing the proceeds). Does anyone care? No, as it`s not important anyway.

What really bugs me about all this is not that AI exists or that it is applied to all walks of life including music creation. It`s that once we understand that it`s out there, we lower our expectations on ourselves and others. We look only at the results and as long as they are nice and shiny or the case of music flawless and appealing to a conditioned expectation of what sounds good (harmonies etc.) we simply accept it. It turns us from listeners to mindless consumers.

Btw, in the early 90s I developed a tool that would inject “mistakes” into automated IT systems to determine if users were then more likely to think that they were interacting with a human instead of a machine. This was the equivalent of what many DAWs offer today as a humanizer tool to make musical patterns seem less “mechanic”.

Now, how is all this relevant to Wikiloops? A better question might be “why is all this relevant to the way I see and work on Wikiloops?” Simple really. While I fool around with my instruments even on a low level I think about the tracks I listen to, I try to understand how and why all of you have played what you have uploaded, why I find it interesting or not, why it triggers the occasional response either in a upload or – more often – in just tinkering with the tracks.

It is to some degree emotional and even lets me understand myself a little better from time to time. Why do I react to harmonies and sounds in a certain way? Why put the keys an octave higher or try to play on the downbeat … why do I like certain results and regard others as a failure even when they are well executed? Why do sounds trigger certain memories? In that sense all tracks I work on are never just tracks but tracks created by musicians with certain ideas in mind that act as an impulse.

It may well be that it`s just me, but knowing what I know about myself, as soon as I sense the danger that a track (the carrier of someone else`s emotions which trigger a response from me) is not from someONE but from someTHING, it all goes flat. I need places like Wikiloops to be a safe space, authentic, dirty, alive. I get more than enough polished make-believe posers in my day job.

If I`ve offended anyone reading this, either through style, language or content, GOOD.
Because it`s nothing compared to how offended I am by knowing that humanity as a whole is poised to deceive me, to trick my emotional response system which is basically the only thing that differentiates me from a machine.

Finally the bit which you`ve been dying to read about: I won`t be proposing to Shi before I have absolute proof that a) she is human and b) her emotional spectrum matches what her voice promises.
This is of course written without the express consent of Shi, which – under the assumption that she is indeed a non-AI personality – gives her every right to throw some punches at me …. which would be enough proof that she might actually be human.

Hit me or love me, but be human … Please.
+9
zedders posted on May 22, 2024 #2
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I listened too. I thought it sounded like auto=tuned garbage and nothing like Shi other than the timbre was female.
AI is using ridiculous amounts of power in data centres. It's estimated that in 2 years AI will be using as much power as the whole of Japan with 120M people. I read it is using 1/5th of all power in Ireland - official figures, not guesses.
+2
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rootshell posted on May 22, 2024 #3
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can i ask a silly question? this seems centered around the 'human' element, and AI is not that. Thomas points out "tracks created by musicians with certain ideas in mind". it leads me to this, there are many tracks, of drums, probably by non-drummers, myself included. whether they are AI-generated or computer-assisted in some way, we seem to be OK with that. i'm just trying to understand why. is it because we are still inputting or injecting a human element when it's computer assisted? but if i ask AI to generate a certain pattern of drums, specific to me and what i'm looking for, now that is bad?

are there certain aspects of AI, when it comes to music, that we just naturally accept as OK? is vocal AI 'the trigger'? vocals and speech are the core of human communication, and a computer program emulating that...well, is it just taboo?

just curious and random thoughts before i head out to work smile
+7
Ernie440 posted on May 22, 2024 #4
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Nick mentions AI drums! haha grin Fake drums are sorta OK with me only because we don't have enough drummers to fill in all the blanks, which is understandable, with drums it's not that simple to just plug in and jam. If AI ever hits like 50% on this site, ya know it's over. I'll be out of here for sure. It has no soul, it's quite gross IMO, taking away our humanity. They're entertaining us with their AI offerings for now and some are falling for it, but wait until we realize it's just about controlling the humans that are left on this planet, every aspect of our lives. It's so invasive and it's designed to be.

Drums and lyrics are one thing .. AI vocals and instruments .. forget it .. at least, I'm not a fan. I don't care how real it sounds, it is designed to remove US. We are living in interesting times for sure right now. angry gringrin
+4
MySounds posted on May 22, 2024 #5
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@Nick: I think there`s a difference between using artificial drums to generate a beat over which you put your guitar or keys on the one hand or using artificial drums and saying your the drummer. In the first case it`s a tool, an embelished click track with kickdrum,hh etc. which allows you to create your guitar magic. You are still the guitarist and to a certain extend a programmer. In the second case you are a programmer only.

And AI goes beyond even that. You don`t even programm a drum pattern anymore but let a machine generate it for you once you`ve provided the framework. So you`ve moved from programmer to user/consumer of a machine-generated offering.

I can understand that it makes sense for a songwriter who doesn`t play instruments to demo ideas using AI. But at the end of the day that doesn`t make him a musician.

If you let an AI tool generate a painting to your specs, would that make you a painter? No, just someone with maybe an eye for good design.
+2
rootshell posted on May 22, 2024 #6
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That's the part I guess I'm trying to understand Thomas, maybe we all have a certain "tolerance" for AI, everyone would be different. I believe I saw a member post something (comment) to the tune of, if it sounds too computer-like or AI-like, there's no incentive to contribute to the track. Something along those lines.
+1
MySounds posted on May 22, 2024 #7
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I don`t think I could define a hard line for myself to say what I would find acceptable and what not. And even then, that line would probably change over time.

But, put it this way: I assume that there are some tracks, especially vocal tracks, you`re proud of. Maybe because you feel they are well performed or because they captured a particular moment and mood and serve as a musical memory of that moment. I`m sure you could put a whole playlist together, enjoy the tracks and relive the memories of writing and recording. Puts you in a certain mood, right?

Now, listen again to the tracks and imagine that it was all AI generated. I`m sure your emotional response to the very tracks would be very different.

I`ve seen some comments on tracks where the listener wrote they were moved to tears. Don`t think we`d get those same comments if they listeners knew the tracks were all AI generated.

I`m not anti-AI but I`d like to know what I`m dealing with.
+2
rootshell posted on May 22, 2024 #8
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Totally agree. I don't know where the line for me is at either. My tolerance may differ from instrument to instrument. Like say sax, one of the few instruments that can send chills up my spine. I hope AI is never able to do that, it would be a sad day indeed.
+1
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DidierS posted on May 22, 2024 #9
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Vast debate on AI obviously which agitates healthy minds who have taken the measure of the Anthropocene...

The case of OULIPO poetry seems interesting to me.

Is there no intellectual activity more purely human than poetry?

The Ouvroir de literaturepotential, generally referred to by its acronym Oulipo (or OuLiPo), is a literary research group founded in 1960 by the mathematician François Le Lionnais and the writer and poet Raymond Queneau. It aims to discover new potential of language and to modernize expression through writing games. The group is famous for its mathematical challenges imposed on the language, forcing creative tricks. Oulipo is based on the principle that constraint provokes and encourages the search for original solutions. You have to break through habits to achieve something new. Thus, the founding members liked to describe themselves as “rats who themselves construct the labyrinth from which they intend to escape”.

This gives “The Poetry Box”

Oupoco is also the Poetry Box. Thanks to Atelier Raffard-Roussel, a portable device was designed to allow all populations to have access to poetry. “If you can’t come to Oupoco, Oupoco will come to you.”

The Poetry Box is a low energy consumption device allowing you to experiment with the principle of generating poetry from existing poems. The Box is autonomous and is supplied with energy thanks to a manual crank, following the principle that "it is not because the generation is automatic that nothing should be done". Once the sonnet is generated, it is displayed on a low-resolution screen integrated into the device.

The Poetry Box respects the dimensions of Queneau's book. It is visible at the Atelier Raffard-Roussel, and during certain poetic or ophthalmic events, but generally without balsamic vinegar.

Go take a look at the Atelier Raffard-Roussel. It's worth the detour !

https://oupoco.org/fr/le-projet/view/35/la-boite-a-poesie.html

PS: thanks to AI for the translation wink
+2
Face posted on May 22, 2024 #10
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Oh a very interesting debate. In my opinion, the introduction of AI into our lives can no longer be stopped and it will no longer be possible to imagine life without it. It will help you, support you or even let you do everything: people are comfortable! You have a lot of general knowledge, your counterpart has Google. You don't even have to be able to write the questions correctly anymore, thanks to voice input it's so quick and the answer is even read out to you.
But let's talk about the music:
How many jams did I not upload because I didn't play it perfectly? Quite a few. I actually used to quantize everything and I thought it sounded great. It took me a while to tell myself: Don't make it perfect, upload it as it is, with all your failures! It wasn't easy for me because you don't like to admit to making mistakes when you have the opportunity to deliver something perfect very quickly.
I was already thinking about whether I should stop, programmed drums and midi library, the like counter goes up and you can see the number yourself, that's how many people heard it, 2 liked it, so it must have been drummed badly.
At some point I said to myself, okay then it is the way it is, I played that, I can't do it any better grin
- and no, there shouldn't be any whining about likes -> I'm happy with myself smile
The AI will eventually be able to play music that I want to listen to without having to search for any artists and listen to X number of tracks. When I say bring in more double bass or doom elements, sad, happy etc.
+2
TeeGee posted on May 24, 2024 #11
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Hear me out:
Generally I am not against using technology. If one goes to the extreme you could say that even playing an instrument is distorting the purity of what is generated from within. Ok, so instruments can be used, metal, vibrating air, electronic keyboards, synthesizers, effects, they all "steal" a little of the magic, sometimes it actually increases it. Wood seems to resonate with the soul.

AI generated Lyrics, who knows where AI they take their input from, so it could have copyright issues. No!!

Drums, I think I can live with DAW generated drum loops, as long as it is declared. At the end of the day, it is like using a click track to keep the timing. Nothing beats a real drummer pounding on leather or wood, however to produce a track it is sometimes necessary to use drum machines.

BUT. BUUUUUUTTTTTTT!!!!! Using AI generated vocals, now that I find creepy and would not want to have it. I am an avid science fiction reader ever since my teens, I know where this leads to.

So if it were down to me, I would ban any AI generated content on Wikiloops - this is my personal view.
+4
BluesyLucille posted on May 24, 2024 #12
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Hello à tous,
J'ai peu à dire sur l'IA...
Si elle sert à simplifier la vie des personnes, pourquoi pas.
Pour la musique ou toute autre forme d'art, je la bannis.
Dans les backing les autres sont toujours présents dans mon esprit, je les imagine, je les perçois...ils sont vivants..smile
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TeeGee posted on May 24, 2024 #13
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Cher M. Sasandco, malheureusement beaucoup de gens ici ne parlent pas français, donc la meilleure chose à faire est d'écrire votre réponse en français, puis d'utiliser Google (ou tout autre service de traduction) pour la publier en dessous. Nous savons que la traduction ne sera pas à 100 %, mais c'est mieux que rien. smile

Translated using google translator:

Dear Mr. Sasandco, unfortunately many people here don't speak French, so the best thing to do is write your reply in French, and then use Google (or any other translation service) to post it underneath. We know the translation will not be 100%, but it's better than nothing. smile
+1
seriouss posted on May 24, 2024 #14
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Somehow this is interesting discussion, I know nobody will be interested in my opinion, just wondering about some statements like: "drums and lyrics os okay,to be generated by AI or whatever... but no instruments", thats funny.
So now I at leat learned that drums are no instruments. But thats not the point.

To me this discussion reminds of the times , maybe 1998 - 2005 when people denied using mobile phones, saying they would never use these. And they ended up as power users.

For me since its like this. I like play drums, but not accoustic because thats loud and my edrum I can play at night.
My attitude toward music changed a lot in that way, that the backing tracks i'd like to play to, don't necessarily have to come from humans.
If I listen to the stuff coming from good producers its hard to say which instruments are played in -life, sampled or whatever. Also the people producing the music don't need to be good looking , no heroic whatever cool appearance. Can be just normal people. For me I just like play drums for fun,so better i can create my own backing tracks faking the "real" instruments , the easier to achieve a good result the better.
genius by birth is a mystery or ....very very seldom.
If everythings banal and meaningless, that's how it is. Everything else is just fiction in my eyes.
But of course it should sound good. So far what I heard from AI ( if I recognized it as this ) is horrible.
+2
rootshell posted on May 24, 2024 #15
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in America, some families may have a 'swear jar', a jar u put money in when someone hears you swearing, cussing, saying bad words, etc. we need an AI jar, you get caught using AI, you donate to the jar smile I'm kidding/joking of course gringrin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swear_jar
+4
MySounds posted on May 24, 2024 #16
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Ernie440 wrote:
How about changing the title of this thread to something like "Opinions about Artificial Intelligence in Music" to reflect the content.


If I knew how to do it, I'd change the title. Hadn't expected this would turn into a serious discussion. I wrote my entry in a state of shock when I noticed how easily I could be fooled (and maybe even accepted being fooled for minute).

And as Shi and I aren't no speaking terms at the moment (it's hard to let go of a good rumor...)
TeeGee posted on May 24, 2024 #17
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go to the first post you wrote, click on "edit" and there yo go...simples wink
+1
MySounds posted on May 24, 2024 #18
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No sure about totally banning AI adds, but at the very least it should be made obvious when AI is being used. A filter option in relation to individual instruments would be great, but Dick will probably un-invite me from the august event if I suggest that to him.
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BluesyLucille posted on May 24, 2024 #19
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TeeGee wrote:
Cher M. Sasandco, malheureusement beaucoup de gens ici ne parlent pas français, donc la meilleure chose à faire est d'écrire votre réponse en français, puis d'utiliser Google (ou tout autre service de traduction) pour la publier en dessous. Nous savons que la traduction ne sera pas à 100 %, mais c'est mieux que rien. smile

Translated using google translator:

Dear Mr. Sasandco, unfortunately many people here don't speak French, so the best thing to do is write your reply in French, and then use Google (or any other translation service) to post it underneath. We know the translation will not be 100%, but it's better than nothing. smile

BluesyLucille posted on May 24, 2024 #20
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I know from a friend who speaks your language that many expressions in French or English are very different. I had the example with one of our wikiloops friends, and we immediately dealt with it in a humorous tone and the understanding was settled. I just wanted to express my doubts about AI for music and AI in general. I no longer need to be in the game, I no longer want to fight like in Facebook from which I left. I'm only looking for musicians who are willing to go a long way with me. My words did not seem clear to you so I will only speak with Lucille. She is the best ambassador.🥰🥰🥰Kisses to all of you
+6
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