Publication date: 
2022/10/07
The possibilities of generating jazz music using artificial intelligence algorithms were tested at the Faculty of Information Technology of the Czech Technical University in Prague (FIT CTU). The composition generated with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms was then transcribed into sheet music by experts so that it could be accessible to professional musicians who could rehearse it. This offered a comparison of live performance with purely electronic playback. The whole event took place at the AI Jazz Concert on 6 October 2022 at the CTU FIT.

The composition, originally generated by artificial intelligence using GPT-2 algorithms for creating musical compositions, was first performed by a jazz band of students of the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and College of Music. Then the audience could hear its reproduction in a purely electronic performance. The idea was to show a comparison between live performance and purely electronic playback. Can we tell the difference at the first hearing? Or would we not know if we did not have this information? The musical experience was complemented by a visual projection of the images that the AI algorithms had generated for the piece.

The concert was conducted by Ing. David Pešek, technology scout and teacher in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation support. "It is interesting to see what is called artificial intelligence today, and where such artificial intelligence can find applications everywhere," says David Pešek, adding: "We are becoming increasingly convinced that AI will not fully replace human resources, but will only replace them in selected tasks where critical or creative thinking is not required. At the AI Jazz Concert, this could be heard in the differences between the performance of a piece by a machine versus that by live musicians consisting of keyboard, drums, guitar, bass, flute and saxophone."

Artificial intelligence algorithms are used in many fields today. They recommend content on the internet, predict the weather and help ensure traffic safety. Artificial intelligence is sure to find its way into the art world as well. For example, we can expect AI algorithms to do some of the mechanical work of creating musical compositions in the not too distant future. They will offer a range of musical outputs, which the producer will then only have to correct. Instead of composers, algorithms may generate music for less demanding listening environments (waiting rooms, supermarkets, etc.). However, there remain a lot of question marks. For example, the question of to what extent the production work of assembling the resulting music from the partial generated templates is a creative activity, and whether publicly produced algorithmically generated music will therefore also be subject to the same or similar rules protected in the Czech Republic by the Czech Authors' Protection Association.

The FIT CTU offers a Bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence, which equips students with indispensable knowledge of machine learning mechanisms, neural networks and orientation in the intricate areas of algorithms, which are nowadays somewhat exaggeratedly called artificial intelligence. Students can test their knowledge in practice during their studies or get involved in research into the use of these algorithms in image recognition, weather and traffic forecasting, recommending web services to clients, and in countless other projects focused on this area.

Composition and images generated by artificial intelligence algorithms on https://youtu.be/YUDElUvqyIE

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Contact person: 
Name: 
Ivana Macnarová
E-mail: 
IVANA.MACNAROVA@FIT.CVUT.CZ