Flying houses and cars, mailing services powered by rockets, and widespread telepathy. These “Jetson-esque'' innovations represent just a few of the hilariously inaccurate predictions made in the 70’s regarding life in the 2020’s. While most of the educated guesses our temporal brothers and sisters wagered about contemporary life were miles off, they weren’t wrong about one. In fact, their prediction not only came true, but has become one of the biggest threats to all forms of original art today: artificial intelligence.

No, the robots from “Ex Machina” haven’t started curating art collections just yet. However, the recent advent of both AI-generated artwork and music has sent ripples through both industries.

*“Galactic Archeology With Metal-Poor Stars” created by Wombo Dream AI*

Thanks to Tik-Tok, Wombo Dream (available on iOS, and Android) has emerged as one of the most accessible forms of AI artwork. Simply by typing in phrases or keywords, Wombo will generate art using AI that combines the word prompts with elaborate murals made from preexisting images. Within seconds, Wombo’s AI is able to piece together intricacies in art that would take human artists hours or even days, even with specifically vague prompts like “Galactic Archeology With Metal-Poor Stars”

With billions of images available in an instant to an advanced AI such as the one behind Wombo, the sophistication of AI-generated artwork is startling, but nowhere near as alarming as the music it can create.

AI music’s vast capabilities span a comprehensive set of musical processes, including composition, performance, digital sound processing, and even interactive composition. Plenty of websites out there can emulate something similar to what Wombo presents, offering an AI that can produce millions of songs based on the users’ specifications. But music AI is far more intuitive, as it possesses the competency to react in real-time to a live, human performer. Utilized in this way, AI can replace entire live bands and orchestras by producing the same quality of music in less time, with less confusion and more harmony.

While less-advanced AIs use internet databases to power their machine learning, music AI use neural networks to mimic how the brain works when creating music. Essentially, if you throw bits of music at these AIs, they will learn its patterns and frequencies by repeated exposure to them. Perhaps one of the most unsettling examples of this technology is its utilization by one of the most musically-deprived fanbases in rap music: Playboi Carti fans. A simple YouTube search yields plenty of AI-generated Carti tracks, created with the application of this technology. Fans even created an EP for Carti using AI, titled DIGITAL BUTTERFLIES. The project uses Carti’s real voice, famous ad-libs, and even frequent Carti collaborator Pierre Bourne’s sound kit to craft a bouncy, psychedelic, six-track trap project, one nearly as polished as something Carti himself would create early on in his career.

Besides being decidedly creepy and soulless, this clearly presents a plethora of pressing issues for the music industry. From further blurring the already murky lines regarding posthumous music to opening even more avenues for artist exploitation, the mere presence of AI music in its current state can and will be an obstacle.

One way or the other, original art is about to become more scarce, whether we like it or not. Much in the same way we consume social media, art will have to be viewed with the eye of a skeptic.

Thanks for reading! Make sure to follow us on Insatgram to never miss a post: