A survey published last week suggested 97% of respondents could not spot an AI-generated song. But there are some telltale signs - if you know where to look.
Here’s a quick guide …
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No live performances or social media presence
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‘A mashup of rock hits in a blender’
A song with a formulaic feel - sweet but without much substance or emotional weight - can be a sign of AI, says the musician and technology speaker, as well as vocals that feel breathless.
- ‘AI hasn’t felt heartbreak yet’
“AI hasn’t felt heartbreak yet… It knows patterns,” he explains. “What makes music human is not just sound but the stories behind it.”
- Steps toward transparency
In January, the streaming platform Deezer launched an AI detection tool, followed this summer by a system which tags AI-generated music.
Lol this is how pop music is created with formulaic, focus group approved garbage over engineered to be the most palatable and sell well.
If that gets killed off along with AI-generated music, that seems to be to be win/win.
I genuinely think AI music is better than the shit they play on radio.
“Dog shit is better than cat shit”
By a very thin margin, but yes. I’d rather listen to AI slop than the Human slop they try to pass for music these days.
Edit: Ah shit, I realized though that we are just gonna get talentless pop stars using AI instead. So both dog AND cat shit at the same time.
Brave new world.
literally 1984
But also there is still lots of good human music being created, I guess it’s passing under your radar. Ask around, browse Bandcamp, listen to radio (hint: it’s not just local now, check out Radio Garden).
And here I’ve been thinking there’s been a big wave of great bands lately. Maybe you just listen to crap.
The only thing more formulaic is Bach, who wrote music mathematically.
Hahah he didn’t exactly write according to a formula. That’s like saying “yeah jimi hendrix is pretty formulaic, because he just plays guitar, with a limited number of chords and strings.”
Edit: On second thought, the above is not a fair comparison at all, and there is a point to the mathematical nature of Bach, I just couldn’t express it in a coherent and snarky way at the same time.