will.i.am, Sean Paul on embracing artificial intelligence in music

How artificial intelligence will affect our lives going forward is a question being figured out across pretty much all industries right now.
While many in the arts have expressed concerns over how algorithms learn from their work, Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am believes it actually should "inspire you to create".
An early artificial intelligence supporter, he says: "If you're basing what you're going to do tomorrow off yesterday, you're not growing."
The music producer spoke to Sky News after giving a demo of his new AI radio app in London.
Rather than artificial intelligence being something with negative connotations, he insists its potential should "inspire better, broader, deeper, faster…[it] shouldn't stop you from being human".
An early artificial intelligence supporter, he says: "If you're basing what you're going to do tomorrow off yesterday, you're not growing."
The music producer spoke to Sky News after giving a demo of his new AI radio app in London.
Rather than artificial intelligence being something with negative connotations, he insists its potential should "inspire better, broader, deeper, faster…[it] shouldn't stop you from being human".
He hopes listeners will come to interact and talk with AI presenters in the not-too-distant future.
But is it a gimmick or a taste of the future?
Sky News put it to will that some of his musical counterparts worry AI - with its instant ability for anyone to make a song in his style - waters down the music industry.
"I don't think anything can water down our industry any more than TikTok has," he responded.
"We used to listen to three-minute songs, now we're down to nine seconds….TikTok and that algorithm, you know, changes what record companies are looking for, changes the architecture of the song… it's watered down…we an ocean (sic)."
Sean Paul on embracing AI
But Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul isn't entirely won over by AI's potential.
"It's a pandora's box," the rapper said, speaking to Sky News, "when you open it, it's going to change all the parameters. It's down to you to get used to the game."
"I am apprehensive about certain parts of [it] in terms of making people lazy to writing", the 52-year-old, who has worked with countless stars over his 20-year career, said.
"It can become a toy and make music more dispensable."
But Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul isn't entirely won over by AI's potential.
"It's a pandora's box," the rapper said, speaking to Sky News, "when you open it, it's going to change all the parameters. It's down to you to get used to the game."
"I am apprehensive about certain parts of [it] in terms of making people lazy to writing", the 52-year-old, who has worked with countless stars over his 20-year career, said.
"It can become a toy and make music more dispensable."
While the likes of will.i.am and Sean Paul may be open to seeing where the technology takes them, Alastair Webber believes the government should be taking control rather than loosening the reins.
The co-founder of The Other Songs, an independent music company championing songwriters and artists, says: "We must protect copyright because it really is the economic bedrock of the creative industries that bring so much back."
The son of composer Lord Lloyd Webber, he believes while it's important that big figures within the industry like his father are vocal with their concerns, the stand they're taking is actually for those with their careers ahead of them.
"We're not talking about these big names like Andrew Lloyd Webber or Elton John, all these people that are getting the headlines supporting this, actually [this matters more] for the young people being born today."
Source: news.sky.com
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