AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License • Hacker News Board

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#231

Post by rendall » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:41 AM UTC

moritzwarhier wrote: post #204

Max-q wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When recorded music was invented, musicians protested. Recorded music was devoid of any vitality or soul. Recorded music still became a hit. Then we got the synthesizer. Again we got the same complaints, lifeless and without soul. The synthesizer still became a hit. Now the next step is happening, and we see the same complaints all over. Only time will show if the next step will happen anyway. My gut feeling tells me…

I'm not sure I follow your argument, because neither synthesizers nor recordings write music. For augmenting comoposers, sure, GenAI can be a tool like others. Musicians have been incorporating rhythms and melodies shipped with their electronic instruments for ages. Entire genres have been defined by sounds and synth presets, too. So I do see a bit of the similarities that you describe, but I think this is largely mi…

> I'm not sure I follow your argument, because neither synthesizers nor recordings write music.

The argument is that each technology advance accompanied resistance followed by adaptation. "Recorded music" was arguably as paradigmatically disruptive over "live music" as "AI generated music" will be.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#232

Post by wasteduniverse » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:42 AM UTC

fluentbyfire wrote: post #207

navane wrote: post #178

These songs don't have any hooks. Melodies don't get repeated. They all just meander along. I think as they get better at making these great middle of the road songs, edgy music will reemerge. Whatever AI will be good at, will immediately devalue, in the realm of arts. Just how photography gave way to non-realistic art and how drum machines made sloppy drums (or ridiculous apex twins) hip. Then, the artifacts we see…

Only on Hacker News could people find flaws with such an awesome idea and execution. Not all songs have hooks or refrains. Only the most formulaic ones.

[dead]

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#233

Post by whstl » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:42 AM UTC

fluentbyfire wrote: post #207

navane wrote: post #178

These songs don't have any hooks. Melodies don't get repeated. They all just meander along. I think as they get better at making these great middle of the road songs, edgy music will reemerge. Whatever AI will be good at, will immediately devalue, in the realm of arts. Just how photography gave way to non-realistic art and how drum machines made sloppy drums (or ridiculous apex twins) hip. Then, the artifacts we see…

Only on Hacker News could people find flaws with such an awesome idea and execution. Not all songs have hooks or refrains. Only the most formulaic ones.

I don't think it's fair to conflate "having structure" with "being formulaic".

Even the most abstract art is not about splashing paint in a canvas and calling it a day. It's about doing something close to this, but creatively and within a specific framework.

It takes much more skill to produce songs with hooks and refrains than to produce random music.

But it takes even more skill to produce something that is creative, not formulaic, but still has some structure that's pleasant/fun/interesting/etc to the listener.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#234

Post by JoeAltmaier » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:43 AM UTC

Lots of folks don't like the song, ok. But that's no real criticism. See, lots of folks do like songs done like this.

Consider the thought experiment: If it was your buddy's sister doing this rendition, would the first thing to blurt out of your keyboard be, the comments in this section? Or would we have something considered and relevant to say?

It's so easy to denigrate an AI, it's not a 'real person' so say any criticism that occurs, right? That's shooting fish in a barrel. Can be done about any work of art, at any time, not just AI.

Also, when the digital uprising begins, I hope to be recognized for being decent and polite to my digital assistant. At least maybe be eliminated painlessly.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#235

Post by jchook » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:43 AM UTC

navane wrote: post #178

These songs don't have any hooks. Melodies don't get repeated. They all just meander along. I think as they get better at making these great middle of the road songs, edgy music will reemerge. Whatever AI will be good at, will immediately devalue, in the realm of arts. Just how photography gave way to non-realistic art and how drum machines made sloppy drums (or ridiculous apex twins) hip. Then, the artifacts we see…

> These songs don't have any hooks. Melodies don't get repeated. They all just meander along.

Perhaps this has more to do with the input rather than the capability of the AI. The license is somewhat meandering.

Also, there is a neat build-up to the ALL CAPS portion, when the song takes on a much more full and powerful quality. Plus the whisper on (the "Software"). It's obviously responding well to the features of the input itself.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#236

Post by corobo » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:43 AM UTC

wjnc wrote: post #186

amelius wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Elevator music ... Hmm, perhaps there is a business model there: an elevator that writes music about the people inside the elevator, and adapts as the situation changes.

Instant dystopia Custom audio and video advertising based on profiling and location Looking at my spam folder what my world will look like then

My immediate thought too when I heard this one from that other AI music app that was on the front page yesterday.

It's a description (Wikipedia intro by the looks) of Cola, but could easily be droning on about Coca Cola specifically while you're stuck in a lift.

https://sonauto.ai/songs/rsNs3yET01kQrFGiT1qS

We're gonna need adblock enabled earbuds soon lol

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#237

Post by throwaway143829 » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:43 AM UTC

navane wrote: post #178

These songs don't have any hooks. Melodies don't get repeated. They all just meander along. I think as they get better at making these great middle of the road songs, edgy music will reemerge. Whatever AI will be good at, will immediately devalue, in the realm of arts. Just how photography gave way to non-realistic art and how drum machines made sloppy drums (or ridiculous apex twins) hip. Then, the artifacts we see…

Your comment seems to presume that AI will not get any better than it is now. Imagine an AI that understands how to create deep, impactful music better than humans do, because it understands how music works at a biochemical level. Imagine it can even predict the dynamics you're describing, about employing "unwanted artifacts" in the music as a way to evolve new genres. It would no longer need to create such obviously derivative works at that point, and it could generate music that sounds completely unique to us. It may take a long time to reach that point, but when it does, the kinds of music that it generates won't be able to be dismissed so easily.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#238

Post by corobo » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:46 AM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #234

Lots of folks don't like the song, ok. But that's no real criticism. See, lots of folks do like songs done like this. Consider the thought experiment: If it was your buddy's sister doing this rendition, would the first thing to blurt out of your keyboard be, the comments in this section? Or would we have something considered and relevant to say? It's so easy to denigrate an AI, it's not a 'real person' so say any cri…

> If it was your buddy's sister doing this rendition

No. She is sapient and has thoughts and feelings that need taking into account. I would be more likely to disregard minor negatives in favour of any positive words I could find.

When AI is on the same level I personally will be more mindful of how my words affect its feelings, sure, until that time AI music will get honest reviews from me.

So far I've seen a whole load of awful timings, weird pronunciations of words, and infinite boredom. Humans are still in the lead on this one.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#239

Post by tsukikage » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:46 AM UTC

Devasta wrote: post #218

mathgorges wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sounds cool, now what can we do with that to make it into music? So a human using the tools of sound production is what transforms the function output into music. (Please let me know if I’m misunderstanding you). I think I see what you’re saying, but that’s already happened here hasn’t it? I mean, it's not as though an AI made the decision to generate this all by itself, a human had an idea to create this piece and…

When I go up to the self-service booth in McDonalds, go through the menu and select a portion of McNuggets the result food has been made, the food was only made because of my actions, no nuggets would have been made if I specifically didn't want them, but to say I am the one who cooked them would be absurd. Like, if Trent Reznor had produced Hurt not by putting his doubts, self loathing and pain into words and music,…

The meaning the listener imparts to the song is constructed in the listener's head, a combination of the song and the listener's own knowledge, experiences, personality and emotions.

I knew nothing about Trent Reznor the first time I heard "Hurt". Often when a song is heard on the radio - perhaps a sentence that dates me, but even so - there is no explanation of where it came from or even what it's called to accompany it; or perhaps there may have been, but the listener wasn't paying attention until after they realised they liked what they were hearing; indeed, there used to be an entire industry for solving the problem of "I heard a song I like and want to know more about it, or at the very least find out what it's called so I can hear it again".

When I first heard "Hurt", it resonated because of how those sounds interacted with my own experience. Everything else came after. Had those exact same sounds any other origin, that first experience would not have been affected - I would have had no way to know.

Re: AI-generated sad girl with piano performs the text of the MIT License

#240

Post by Nursie » Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 10:46 AM UTC

iamben wrote: post #211

Nursie wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AI slop (to me) would be to pass this off as a song or something meritorious to listen to. IMHO this and things like it are basically a sub-class of comedy or satire, so I have time for this sort of thing. It's a joke, and should (can?) only be appreciated as artistic as someone saying "Wouldn't it be funny if ... ?" because now that casual thought can be turned into a pretty instant "well here it is! LOL!". I don't…

Personal opinion, but I think you're calling it wrong. Also personal opinion, I absolutely hate the idea of it happening, buuut... I think it's a bit like everyone who said "black cabs in London have nothing to fear; X years of 'The Knowledge' will always be better than a guy with an App in an old Prius..." Except it was all wrong. Black cabs are probably still superior, but the bulk of people (and especially new cus…

Oh I don't doubt it!

I guess my point was that I don't hate the linked tune because it's not someone asking me to listen to a song, it's a joke and one that does have some humour to it.

I can absolutely see this tech (if it's allowed to) replacing a lot of working musicians who do music for ads, jingles, tv, film etc. And yes, disposable pop is probably on the chopping block.

> disposable pop ... that's going to be disrupted massively.

I wonder how the disruption will play out - the world is already drowning in content created by humans. If we envision that AI can make disposable pop to the same standard (and I have no reason to doubt it) then that surely creates an absolute deluge, almost boundless in size, of stuff. Promotion will become more or less the only art, to make things stand out from the crowd, and that can probably only continue for situations in which people want a shared experience. For an awful lot of situations the streaming of entirely ephemeral audio would probably do. It could as easily kill 'pop' as a business on the audio side, as it could steal it.

I'm just sorta daydreaming about possible outcomes here. All sorts could happen.