The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has been a boon to many industries, but it may be a threat to the music industry. AI has already been used to create music, and now some musicians are worried that it could take away their creative control in the future. Musicians @Blink Drive and @G1ToTheRescue are two such musicians who have written songs about the TV show Sliders and scifi. They are often active on Twitter and have even rooted themselves in the music platform Spotify.
We had a good indepth discussion the other day about their album and music videos. It’s generally rap and their songs have a pretty good melody to them. But what if AI takes over their creativity? AI can easily generate music that is almost indistinguishable from human-made music. This means that AI could potentially take away the creative control of musicians, as it would be able to produce music without any input from the artist. This could be especially true for musicians like @Blink Drive and @G1ToTheRescue, who specialize in writing music about a specific topic. AI could easily generate music about the TV show Sliders and scifi, without any input from the artist. The implications of this are far-reaching.
If AI can take away the creative control of musicians, then it could also take away their ability to make money. AI-generated music could be sold for a fraction of the cost of human-made music, and this could drastically reduce the income of musicians. However, there is still hope. Musicians like @Blink Drive and @G1ToTheRescue have shown that they can still write creative and unique music, even when the topic is limited.
They have managed to write music lyrics about everything from creator Tracy Tormé, the Eggheads episode, and Rembrandt Brown. This shows that even with the threat of AI looming, musicians can still write creative and unique music. In the end, AI may be a threat to the music industry, but it doesn’t have to be. Musicians like @Blink Drive and @G1ToTheRescue have shown that creativity and uniqueness can still be achieved, even when the topic is limited. With the right approach, AI could be used to enhance the music industry, rather than replace it.*
I want to express that I am by no means accusing @Blink_Drive or @G1ToTheRescue of using the process of AI-generated music. In fact I encourage them to keep pressing forward in their unique personal creativity. In a sense computer generated media is a crude analogy to that of slider duplicates or the near identical world in Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome. I was pondering on how the world of robotics is evolving. Some robots literally look like those in the movie ‘i,Robot’. I eventually received video recommendations of voice/chat/ai on YouTube. Long story short I came across the ‘scary’ artificial intelligence, as many have noted. That software is called OpenAI. If you were wondering about the asterisk above well here is what it’s for:
*Editors Note:
The entirety of the article above the asterisk was written by AI. Yes, it’s true. I only put in a few sentences and this was created for me. You may have already heard of this most recent update of OpenAI. This isn’t unheard of, actually it’s been going on for years especially with advertising. But also in paintings and photographs. Notice it wrote that it would indeed be taking money away from independent artists, however declared “there is still hope”. Years ago Adobe introduced software called Voco, which emulated a specific person’s voice. It was abandoned however, likely due to identify theft and liability. Take a look at what I entered just to get the paragraphs I received. This is only scratches the surface of what AI can and will do.
A computer cannot have the feelings of love or the joy of creativity. If we allow ourselves to use this technology for everything what are we? Walking Jello? We’re in that process now with our cellphones but this technology is taking it to another level. Our critical thinking skills and creativity will be completely absent. @g1totherescue is working on an album that is currently in production entitled “The Quinn Mallory Project”. You can find @Blink_Drive on Twitter and Spotify with his song titled ‘Slidecage’. Here’s his music video version: Slidecage by Blink Drive. It’s ironic that his lyrics mention Robert Englund being a robot in the episode State of the Art.
Even though the episode of State of the Art was crafted so poorly it still had some good tidbits of truth. I think that’s what helps a lot of the other episodes as well. Even as ludicrous as some of the episodes are, there’s a pivotal moral point to them. I want to quote Professor Arturo from State of the Art about a robot:
“You and I are not machines and he, by definition is not human. Now, I don’t care how creative he is, whether he can compose a symphony or write a sonnet. He cannot experience the joy of creativity nor can he experience the pain of failure. Now, what’s the difference between us and them? It’s the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. It’s our capacity for moral growth. It’s our capacity for love, truthfulness, charity, and an ability to put up with friends when they drive us to the point of distraction.”
From the episode Gillian of the Spirits and Slide by Wire, technology was intentionally suppressed and banned. As the old phrase goes and Quinn quoting it as well, “Technology is just a tool neither good nor evil. It just depends on how you use it.”
This AI created the first four paragraphs of this article but I commanded it to create some Sliders songs for me as well. I just put in a sentence or two or three for it to create a song, and I wrote the title of each song by myself.
Setlist:
01 The Creator of Sliders
02 Always on the Run
03 Wrong Professor
04 Crying
05 Quinn and Wade
06 The Best and Worst
07 Eggheads
08 Tears in my Fro, Cry Like a Man
09 Thank You for the Ride
10 Timer of Fate
11 #BringBackSliders
12 Sliders Fans Will Never Die
I edited each song very minimally. By only one or two words for each song. I done this not only for some credit but I wanted a human element to it, no matter how small. Does this make me a music artist? By all means NO. If you dare to use the lyrics or read them, you’re more than welcome. Here’s the full set of album lyrics:
Always on the Run (2022)
Let’s hope that we are not completely consumed by this technology. Neither @G1ToTheRescue, @Blink_Drive, myself, or you. After all, music, pure music that is, comes straight from the heart. It can be created from a story, a mood, a personal experience, melancholy and love. Many artists relish at the idea of writing their thoughts down. Famous Star Trek composer Dennis McCarthy produced the music for the Pilot and Luck of the Draw. Even Sliders creator Tracy Tormé wrote the song ‘Cry Like a Man’. Here’s to @G1ToTheRescue, @Blink_Drive and others who keep producing music. Music digs deep into the mind of humanity, even for we the Sliders.
Spotify links:
g1totherescue
Blink Drive
You can listen to a few of my favorite songs here: My Favorites
Last man out!