Thanks, didnt know about this project. At first I thought that aiva only composed the sheet music. I was baffled to learn that it kind of played all the virtual instruments. (Did it do also the mixdown?). I like classical music but i'm not very fond of full orchestration. The solo piano piece was clearly influenced by at least 50 % bach (I loove bach) and I couldnt tell a difference if composed and or played by a human. Bach is an interesting choice cause it doesnt have to deal with a lot of dynamic play too much. But there was dynamic play! The orchestra pieces sound too perfect, could use more dynamic...but that is just how I hear most orchestra music. In the end it is the performer or the conductor deciding what could be played in what mood. There can be dramatic changes with the same piece played by different performers. I would like to see some research, blinded test with experts in classical music. I'm pretty sure they cant figure out what the pieces of aiva are. And sounds like aiva is in its infant shoes.
Yes, computers will outperform humans in art pretty soon and already right now. I wouldnt be surprised if in 2 years we find out that the 3 of the top ten music hits are written by AI. Maybe soon AI will create a new genre of music...its learning from masters, influencing, mixing it up and improvising....just how humans invent new genres.
"Machines have no feeling"....well...this is a point we wont figure out that soon. Maybe not yet....but what are we? We are machines, we have a (pretty much) central processing unit and the basis of our thoughts is a complex neural network and we are highly influenced by biochemistry and sensoric input...we can process tiniest differences in airpressure and we can "hear" (hearing is amazing...seeing even more)
....we dont understand consciousness yet...but there are many forms of consciousness (psychedelics can give a hint about this). I'm pretty sure AIs will have consciousness, but it wont be in no form like ours...cause the inputs are so different.
I think it can do what they assign it to do. I think it can do the sheet music, but also has samples it can access. The piano was mostly Bach oriented. Since there are strict rules for Bach, I didn't find it THAT impressive but it did sound like Bach could have written it. I agree... Orchestral pieces are so dynamically diverse that when a sample just plays at the same level or small range, it doesn't feel real. Right AIVA is in it's infancy. It does sound like it's written by a young composer to me, perhaps high school age but well trained.
That's actually a compliment to them though, since that's hard to recreate. I agree that computers can outperform humans in art, but I don't agree that their performances will be any more than just quantity. I think the human brain and artistic sensibility go hand in hand. Unless the specific artist is programming and knows how to, they won't be able to make their own style very well unless they just do the art themselves. If AI can be used to pitch new genres of music, maybe there won't be genres in the future at all. Maybe it will be that music is just music, and stuff can sound similar but blend styles so much.
Right, so machines can't understand consciouness or unconsciouness, or subconsciouness yet, since we're still discovering what those mean for ourselves. And the feelings, expression, interpretation... that a computer can't do yet. A computer can calculate, and create based on those, but it can't interpret these subcontexts that humans are able to do so well. But as always, technology can prove me wrong too. @darwin.finch
@playitforward Would you say that art is in the creation or the interpretation? Or, maybe I should ask, if an unsuspecting audience member happened to be moved by a piece that was created by an AI, would it matter if the brain-thing that created it was electronic versus organic?
If an audience is moved then I'll pay more attention to it. As of right now the music isn't at a point where it's moving, just at a point where it's technically starting to get to competition level. @tajmikel But to answer your question, no it wouldn't matter. But the technicality of a computer making judgments like a human brain isn't there yet. Hopefully someday soon.
I see what you're saying but I think appreciation of art is (of course) highly subjective, and especially to the uninitiated (those unfamiliar with the process of making or producing music), even what might be considered amateur or folk works can move many. I think the music is therefore already at a point where it can move audiences, and I even found myself a bit inspired by some of the AIVA works. :D I appreciate your insight and thank you for your reply! :)
Initially I wanted to write that AIs proberbly will not be able to create new genres, only recreate similes. but then I was thinking about it and the neural networks I have seen perform, creating "lifeforms" made of sticks and balls being able to get better at achieving a certain goal in the most unexpected way by an evolutionary process. Lets see whats coming. Everything is so exciting right now!