This happened a while back. It was a typical Saturday morning, around eleven AM, when a semi-truck came barreling straight at me, driving on the wrong side of the road. I had mere seconds to react: stay put or move left, to the other side of the road? I was going at about fifty kilometres per hour uphill, trying to cross an overpass, with the semi-truck closing in fast – meaning slamming the brakes just wasn’t an option.
At that point, thoughts were racing through my head. Is this guy drunk, asleep, or just British? If any of those are true, I’d have to go left. Then again, perhaps he’d realise his mistake, and switch lanes. In which case, I’d better stay put. Mind you, I was fully aware that my little hatchback was no match for this steel beast rolling down the hill. Choosing wrong could have had serious consequences.
So, I went left – and, believe it or not, I even used my turn signal out of sheer reflex. I floored it, praying no one shows up on the other side. Once I passed him by, I swing back to the right. And there I was, breathing a sigh of relief, feeling much calmer than I expected to, heading over to my appointment at the hairdresser’s. Life goes on. Now, this happened a while back, but I’ve got a reason for sharing it with you.
You see, not too long ago, I found myself watching YouTube, watching videos of Freddie Mercury covering pop songs from the ’80s to today. Yep, you’ve guessed it, it’s all AI. My curiosity got the best of me, and I gave it a listen, half-hoping it would suck. I started with the AI version of Skyfall. The verdict? It starts out okay, but ends up sounding like a masculine version of Adele. I felt relieved, oddly enough. I convinced myself that we’re still better than these machines – for the moment.
Next, I listened to the AI covering My Heart Will Go On. This one was much more like Freddie. I found myself having to nitpick. And as I kept searching for new ones and listening, I stumbled upon songs that were darn near flawless – to the point where the casual listener would swear they’d stumbled upon some long, lost Freddie Mercury song. Sure, there’s some AI trash out there too, but less than you might expect.
There’s still plenty room for improvement, but the implications here are massive. AI is somewhat like that semi-truck, headed our way. It won’t go away by just ignoring it. Nor does it care about our value judgement. I’ve seen critics make arguments against AI. To me, it seemed as if they were implying some moral high ground, by denigrating its use. But whether we like or dislike it, it’s headed our way. And we’ve all got to decide how to handle that.
Let’s wrap this up on a high note. You know what? I actually found myself enjoying some of these AI-crafted songs. In a way, it’s like a dream come true for fans – what if the greatest rock singer ever covered this or that song? Well, we don’t have to wonder anymore; we can just ask our computers. The genie’s out of the bottle, and I’ve got a feeling it isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s like the early days of the internet all over again – part excitement, part anxiety for what the future will bring. And if that comparison holds, the best choice will be to embrace it as it happens, not to shy away from it all. Don’t listen to the doomsayers. Libraries still exist, physical books still get sold, musicians still play live concerts, all despite the internet offering more convenience for free. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
Food for thought!
Yours truly
Vincent J. Dancet