Last week, I delved into the topic of Artificial Intelligence, robots, and how Art is slipping from our hands (or ears). These past few days, I revisited the issue at the Regional Growth Conference in Patras. Many significant points were raised, it seems, during the panel organized by the association I work for (Friends of Music Society). Nevertheless, one thing lingered in my mind for a long time after our discussion concluded. It was something an AI researcher said, concerning education related to ChatGPT or similar machines. What was said, then, pertained to how these machines learn and how they assist us. The conclusion is — so we don’t completely lose heart — that machines essentially learn from us. They simply have the ability to conceptually synthesize an unimaginable volume of information, which they process accordingly to draw creative conclusions for the questions you ask them. This enormous capacity for information synthesis is an asset in itself. Not everything needs to be original in this life; it’s enough to be able to combine knowledge that has already been acquired. In this way, you can produce new forms of art or enrich existing ones. Could we say, then, that these machines can essentially create things only from ‘reheated food’? Can’t they create new and unique things? Basically, no; they will rely on what has already been done and will deliver a masterfully structured work of art, but with little originality if you examine it dynamically and critically.

How many more songs can be written using only three chords? Apparently, a great many! ChatGPT offers endless solutions to this issue with melodies that we probably enjoy listening to, vaguely reminding us of something else, but we’re not quite sure. So, we perceive it as new, as groundbreaking, to align with our perception of the matter (new production = new, resembles something we’ve heard = repetition).

Where will this lead? No one knows… will our reality be flooded with dozens, hundreds, thousands of trivialities created as a mosaic, or will we continue to believe in the value of intellect and the novelty that human ingenuity can invent? If I absolutely had to bet, I would say that most likely both will happen simultaneously. Some will listen to/watch/enjoy the first type (which can hardly be called Art), and there will be others who will seek the authentic and emphatic.

I promise that next week I will tackle something more “musical” rather than concerns bordering on libertarian philosophy. Until then, however…