Ever since the victorious Jeopardy win of IBM Watson, left-brain-leaning individuals have been skeptical about the viability of AI and machine learning replacing human creativity. While we all enjoy the sweeping advancements of AI on a daily basis through our smart devices and cloud-based professional platforms, these tend to be areas where the rare hiccup is forgiven in favor of the overwhelming efficiency gained from their constant improvement. When it comes to the creation of an original music track, however, it’s much easier to be critical of an end result that—while perfectly fine on sheet music—falls flat (pun intended) when it comes to eliciting any emotional response with a listener.
There is a reason why so many of us have such a personal, nostalgia-driven connection to music. It has the rare ability to move a person. To transport them to a different time and place and bring beauty and poetry to some of the most nuanced and intangible experiences in life. And while a machine can certainly learn which sequences of notes make the most pleasant harmonies, a lot can be left out when it comes to re-creating the emotional throughline that draws so many people to maintain a lifelong passion for music.
With the exponential growth in streaming content and audiences hungrier than ever for the “newest” and “latest” media trend, content creators and advertisers are producing at volumes inconceivable just a mere five years ago. In advertising, this means that timelines continue to be sped up and condensed, demanding a faster, more efficient production process, without sacrificing the creativity or quality of the end product.