Why AI Might Not Be the Future of Songwriting
by Alec Plowman
For many years, artificial intelligence was the stuff of science fiction. But, in 2021, AI is very real, and AI techniques have become increasingly important to sectors like the technology industry.
The potential applications of AI are wide ranging indeed. But, could machines mimicking cognitive functions ever replace the human songwriter?
Songwriting is an interesting thing. It’s something very much associated with the human mind, with natural intelligence and the emotionality that comes with it. We tend to conceptualize practices like lyric writing as an art, rather than a science, and therefore, find it difficult to imagine a machine being able to replicate that process.
But, according to some at least, the age of the AI songwriter isn’t as far off as you’d think. In his 2019 book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari argues that Artificial Intelligence will eventually surpass the abilities of human songwriters.
Harari reasons that AI will eventually be able to map out individual minds, creating songs tailored to own mental algorithms that respond, not just to how we feel, but how we might want to feel.
It’s a scary concept, but not everyone is convinced that AI will ever truly deliver the goods. Nick Cave, a man who knows a thing or two about great songwriting, offered this response to Harari’s assertion:
“[When we listen to music] what we are actually listening to is human limitation and the audacity to transcend it. Artificial Intelligence, for all its unlimited potential, simply doesn’t have this capacity. How could it? And this is the essence of transcendence. If we have limitless potential then what is there to transcend? And therefore what is the purpose of the imagination at all… AI would have the capacity to write a good song, but not a great one. It lacks the nerve.”
Whatever the future may hold, it’s fair to say that present day AI songwriting algorithms aren’t really within touching distance of their human counterparts. Case in point, the other day, I used a supposedly “state-of-the-art” AI to generate some lyrics for happy rock song. This is what I got:
Verse 1
We made sweet love
Can young lovers do this forever?
You know I love a man
I remember every word that
Pre-Chorus
Glory to the king who gave us hope
Love is a secret kept deep inside
Chorus
To love me and to keep me
Love me and love me, but love me best
Someone may be chance
I am you are he
Verse 2
Around this table so high
To say that I love you this much
This is me tired and alone
Nobody will ever love me like this
Pre-Chorus
We can build a world in the image of my love
We can build a world in the image of my love
Chorus
To love me and to keep me
Love me and love me, but love me best
Someone may be chance
I am you are he
Bridge
They said you were lost
I fell in love listening to the radio
Chorus
To love me and to keep me
Love me and love me, but love me best
Someone may be chance
I am you are he
Yeesh. For the time being, at least, I’m sticking to human beings.
If you’re looking to generate some lyrics with the human touch, you’ve come to the right place. Why not check out the Premium Lyrics archive and find the words to elevate your song from a good one to a great one.
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