There is a renewed need to study the development of AI systems that the artistic community can embrace as empowering tools rather than replacements for human creativity. Previous research suggests that novel AI technologies can greatly help artists expand the range of their musical expressivity and display new kinds of virtuosity during live music performances[1,2]. However, the advent of powerful AI systems, in particular generative models, has also attracted criticism and sparked concern among artists who fear for their artistic integrity and financial viability[3,4]. This is further exacerbated by a widening gap in technological innovation between private companies and research-focused academic institutions.
In this context, we need to pay specific attention to topics such as artistic consent, data collection[5], as well as audience approval. Furthermore, we deeply believe in the importance of integrating lighting and visual arts to effectively convey the role and impact of AI-generated content in human-AI performances to broader audiences.
This workshop will bring together researchers and professionals from music, lighting, visual arts, and artificial intelligence to explore the latest advancements in AI technologies and their transformative potential for live music performances. In particular, discussions will touch on the controllability requirements of AI-augmented instruments, the associated visualization methods, and the sociocultural impact of these technologies[6]. We will focus on the limitations of such technologies, as well as ethical considerations. As an example, we will also discuss the outcomes of the innovative Human-AI co-created concert that we produced with Jordan Rudess on September, 21st, 2024.
References:
[1] Blanchard, Lancelot, Naseck, Perry, Egozy, Eran, and Paradiso, Joe. “Developing Symbiotic Virtuosity: AI-augmented Musical Instruments and Their Use in Live Music Performances.” MIT Press, 2024.
[2] Martelloni, Andrea, McPherson, Andrew P, and Barthet, Mathieu. “Real-time Percussive Technique Recognition and Embedding Learning for the Acoustic Guitar.” arXiv, 2023.
[3] Morreale, Fabio. “Where does the buck stop? Ethical and political issues with AI in music creation.” Transactions of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval, 2021.
[4] Rys, Dan. “Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj Among 200 Artists Calling for Responsible AI Music Practices.” Billboard, April 2, 2024.
[5] Morreale, Fabio, Sharma, Megha, and Wei, I-Chieh. “Data Collection in Music Generation Training Sets: A Critical Analysis.” International Society for Music Information Retrieval, 2023.
[6] Born, Georgina, Morris, Jeremy, Diaz, Fernando, and Anderson, Ashton. “Artificial intelligence, music recommendation, and the curation of culture". White paper: University of Toronto, Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, CIFAR AI & Society program, 2021.
