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.
I can see a creative use for Suno Studio where you can feed it a clip of a chord progression you recorded, have the AI generate a few extrapolations, then arrange bits and pieces of it within Suno Studio to create the basic song structure and finally export the midi to your DAW. Basically, you can use it as a fancy sketchpad.
The problem I can’t get past is the environmental impact.
Right? I used to use… Don’t remember what the app was on Android, but it was like a fun little beat studio, it could generate random patterns according to styles, and randomize instruments too. So you’d get a loop, then you’d tweak it and switch our instruments and sounds and whatnot, and then when I found a nice rhythm, I recreated it in Ableton or FL Studio or whatever.
So, let’s say you use Suno to make a good beat. You import slice and dissect the beat and sounds, and I fail to see how it’s qualitatively any different than using sample or loop packs, which basically every fucking musician on the planet does.
“Are we so different, you and I”? :)
Absolutely, AI is just a tool. It can be used for good things and for bad things. And there are technologies currently being worked on outside the circle jerk Ponzi scheme of all the tech oligarchs right now to make it less environmentally impactful. They just don’t care and are rushing to make every last buck they can before the bubble pops.
Huh. I wonder which it’s gonna be!