9 Comments
Apr 19Liked by John Strohm

Could we use AI (or an actual human) to file a copyright infringement case for every one of the 100+ songs I have out there on Spotify/itunes right now? Since surely these large data sets are using them right? I mean it would cost them so much to defend every suit.

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LFG

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To me, the basic fact that machines/algorithms can't empathize, they can only manipulate emotions, is the big dividing line that holds out hope for creative human expression. Even among us old obsolete human beings, there are people who approach songwriting like a math problem or carpentry project, vs. those who seek to emotionally resonate with others.

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Good thoughts. Some “creative” processes are begging to be automated. For example, 3 writers in a room trying to reverse-engineer how to write a hit country song.

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Yeah, that's basically an assembly line, not art. Those folks are definitely making just "content".

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How can we help?

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I appreciate these thoughts/arguments, but I also think there’s an argument for us as listeners to drive this, without the intervention of copyright and the courts. I’m not yet sure those are the best approach.

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We can make new laws but it must acknowledge that these models have zero value without the training data. The courts and monetary damages will keep these ghouls accountable while they simply take what they want. If listeners don’t care about human creators, I argue they don’t really appreciate music.

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Agreed about listeners, and I worry copyright or some other law won’t change that if it be so. Perhaps artists’ time & energy will be better directed toward the audience, promoting the value of humanity, than in Congress and the courts.

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