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Songwriting & Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
Back in June 2023, one of my favourite songwriters Paul McCartney announced that there would be a new Beatles track coming out later that year. He also mentioned, in passing, that its production had been aided by AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Most people were excited at the possibility of hearing a new Beatles song. But, for some reason or other, (mainly I suppose because ChatGPT had been unveiled to the general public only six months earlier), it was the mention of A1 that a lot of people seized upon - and with varying degrees of comprehension, ranging from those who understood perfectly well what Paul had said, to those who decided that now was the opportunity to magick up visions of shiny robots with black moptops performing the Beatles Songbook on “Top Of The Pops”.
And it was around that time also, that we here started getting the emails.
What was this AI thing all about? Was it a machine that you could buy on Amazon? Could it really turn a musical novice into a songwriting genius? And so on…and so forth.
In vain we tried to explain that AI was not actually "new" - it had been wandering around the music biz for a long time. It was not even a “machine”. And perhaps most disappointing of all, sadly, there wasn't any “robot”.
Instead, we urged people to think Alexa.... Google.... Auto-Tune.... Think that gizmo on your electric piano which provides the drums and correct (well most of the time anyway) chords while you slaughter the latest hit. Or even that harrowing voice inside your car that screams “Hey moron – you’re driving wrong-way up a one-way street”. (And no, we're not talking about your mother-in-law again).
But in some cases, it was obvious that our explanations were falling on deaf ears. A few people were of the opinion that we in the ISA simply did not understand the AI concept at all. ChatGPT was changing the songwriting world around us, and we were just Luddites.
(One person even suggested darkly, that we understood its power only too well - but that we were trying to hush it all up!)
We forbore from pointing out that we had been playing with ChatGPT for a while now, and that to date, it had yet to clone Elvis for us.
(We forbore, mainly because conspiracy theorists don't have a developed sense of humour).
We did think of claiming that we had just bought a ChatGPT robot, but because it kept sitting in the corner blinking its eyes and making threatening gestures, we were afraid to ask it anything.
(This time we forbore mainly because we feared that somebody might actually believe us).
And then I thought - why not reprint the section about AI which was already on our "Cookies" page - the part where we ask ChatGPT itself to provide a brief summary of its powers?
Surely, they'd accept the word of "The Robot"?
So here it is, word for basic word.
Jim Liddane
Can you give me a simplified definition, and history of "artificial intelligence (AI)?”
ChatGPT
Certainly! Here's a simplified definition and history of artificial intelligence (AI).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) means making machines smart and capable of doing things that typically need human intelligence, like understanding language, recognizing images, and making decisions. It's like teaching computers to think and learn.
The idea of AI goes way back in stories and myths, where people imagined robots or intelligent beings. But in the mid-1900s, scientists started working on it seriously. They coined the term "artificial intelligence" and even held an international conference to explore the possibilities.
At first, AI progress was slow because computers weren't powerful enough, and the problems were very complex. In the '80s and '90s, there were some successes, like systems that mimicked human experts in specific fields. But they couldn't handle real-world complexity and uncertainty very well.
Then, things changed in the late '90s and early 2000s. Researchers made breakthroughs in a type of AI called machine learning. It allows computers to learn from data without being explicitly programmed. This led to big advancements in areas like image and speech recognition and self-driving cars.
Today, AI is everywhere, from voice assistants on our phones to recommendation systems on streaming platforms. It's also used in industries like healthcare and manufacturing. Scientists continue to work on AI to make it more explainable and ethical. They're even trying to develop machines that can outperform humans in any mental task, called artificial general intelligence (AGI).
So, AI is about making machines smart, and it has come a long way, changing the world and opening up exciting possibilities for the future.
Jim Liddane
Thank you very much.
ChatGPT
You're welcome! I'm glad I could help. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
So there you have it. Those are the words of "The Robot" ittself!
Now back in the real world....
Songwriting & ChatGTP
As I said above, in June 2023, the music world learned that Paul McCartney had used Artificial Intelligence (AI to cognoscenti like moi), in the creation of a new Beatles release featuring John Lennon.
For several months, there had been all sorts of very ill-informed (but very entertaining) stories doing the rounds, prophesying that any day now, courtesy of AI, we would be able to hear Enrico Caruso singing Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits, while Elvis Presley would shortly be releasing a cover version of the Miley Cyrus classic "Flowers".
OK. Neither Enrico nor Elvis would be actually touring in support of the new material, but hey - it was early days and AI could not be expected to fix everything at the same time.
Well not yet, anyway.
So where, people wondered, did the world of songwriting fit into all this? Did it mean that "10 to 6" (the classic song you wrote for Dolly Parton as her follow-up to "9 to 5" but sadly still unpublished) might be worth looking at again?
Perhaps it could be re-demoed, removing your very breathless (but very tasteful) falsetto vocals - replacing them (courtesy of AI), with the real actual genuine voice of Dolly herself?
Might not Dolly be then persuaded to accept this finished product as a fait-accompli? I mean - after all, it would save her a trip to the recording studio for Pete's sake because you would already have her next release ready to go with the flick of a switch.
But of course, the Beatles story had been a monumental misunderstanding all along. Paul had suggested absolutely nothing like that. Theirs was a real song, penned by a real John Lennon and sung by a real John Lennon, but for a while anyway, imaginations could run riot.
And of course by now, AI and/or ChatGPT were becoming mainstream news anyway.
The Guardian told us....
"Grimes has welcomed musicians to create new songs with her voice using Artificial Intelligence, saying she would split 50% of royalties on any successful AI-generated track that included her voice".
That sounded positive enough, although further down the same article, we learned that
"Last week, Universal Music successfully petitioned TikTok, YouTube and Spotify to remove a track titled "Heart On My Sleeve", which used AI vocals generated from their artists Drake and the Weeknd".
So, seemingly some people loved AI to bits - others did not seem all that thrilled about it.
By coincidence, I myself had been using ChatGPT, the major engine of Artificial Intelligence, on and off since the start pf 2023, mainly in support of my non-music writing, but now, (and purely in the name of scholarship you understand), I decided it was about time to take a another look at how it might be used to advantage by an aspiring songwriter.
Now before I start, let me say that some people worry that the whole thing has to be terribly complicated - but actually, it isn't. In the case of ChatGPT for example, you simply ask it a question - and it delivers an answer. Instantly. In fact, it takes me longer to type one-line questions than it takes ChatGPT to give me forty-line answers! (And yes Mavis I know - I am in spite of your best efforts, still a one-finger typist. But even so - it's really very very fast).
Ayway, I decided that it was high time to re-engage with ChatGPT, but this time on the subject of how ChatGPT could help me to write a song.
So I logged in, started typing, and within minutes, she and I were getting along famously - so famously that | even had the nerve to ask her to pen a poem especially for me. And this was just our first date!
OK - more of the romantic stuff anon. First, let's cut to the serious stuff, where I posed a serious question, and she seriously answered.
The entire engagement went as follows....
Jim Liddane
How can ChatGPT assist a songwriter in writing a song?
ChatGPT
ChatGPT can assist a songwriter in various ways when it comes to writing a song. Here are some ways ChatGPT can provide support and inspiration:
Brainstorming Ideas
You can share your initial thoughts or concepts with ChatGPT, and it can help generate ideas for lyrics, themes, melodies, or even song structures. It can provide fresh perspectives or suggest different approaches to enhance your creativity.
Lyric Generation
ChatGPT can help you come up with lines, rhymes, or entire verses for your song lyrics. You can provide some starting lines or keywords, and ChatGPT can offer suggestions, alternative phrases, or assist in expanding upon your initial ideas.
Theme and Emotion Exploration
If you're struggling to define the central theme or emotional tone of your song, ChatGPT can ask you targeted questions to help you explore your ideas further. It can provide prompts related to specific emotions, experiences, or moods, encouraging you to dive deeper into your creative process.
Rhyme Assistance
If you're looking for rhyming words or struggling to find the right word to fit your lyrics, ChatGPT can suggest rhymes or synonyms. It can also help maintain a consistent rhyme scheme throughout your song.
Melody Creation
While ChatGPT is primarily text-based, it can still assist in the songwriting process by providing guidance on melody structure or offering melodic ideas through descriptions or humming representations. You can describe the mood you want to convey, and ChatGPT can provide suggestions based on your input.
Feedback and Refinement
You can share your song lyrics or melodies with ChatGPT, and it can provide feedback, suggestions, or alternative options for improvement. It can offer objective opinions on the flow, structure, or overall effectiveness of your work, helping you refine your ideas.
Remember that ChatGPT is an AI language model and not a human songwriter. While it can provide creative assistance and inspiration, the final output and artistic decisions are ultimately up to you. Use ChatGPT as a tool to augment your creative process and experiment with different ideas, but always rely on your own judgment and artistic vision.
Well there you have it!
I asked a question, and sixty seconds later, ChatGPT was getting ready to turn me into the next Ed Sheeran.
Now, my question was in no way specific, and yet, the list of things she could do for me was seemingly endless, and it was clear that all I had to do was ask.
And ask I did.
Jim Liddane
Thank you for that. Now, I live in Limerick, Ireland. As you know, there is also a type of poem called a "limerick". Could you write a "limerick" for me about Limerick?
ChatGPT
Certainly! Here's a limerick about Limerick:
"In Limerick town, where tales are spun,
A city of history, charm, and fun.
From King John's Castle, proud and tall,
To the riverside walks where lovers enthrall,
Limerick's spirit shines brightly under the sun!"
I hope you enjoy this lighthearted limerick about your city!
Jim Liddane
That is absolutely brilliant. Thanks.
ChatGPT
You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked it. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask. Happy songwriting and exploring the wonders of Limerick!
Well there you have it! OK I accept that my expression of "thanks" was perhaps a bit grovelling, but then I know that I need her more than she needs me. And I bet she knows it too.
Also I realise that I keep calling ChatGPT "she" but I remain to be convinced that any male could be as polite, as uncritical, as patient, and at the same time, as helpful as she is. Chat GPT is not a "he", nor most certainly is she an "it".
ChatGPT is quite clearly a "she".
And what's more, I can already tell that she really likes me.
Now, as regards the above exchange, the first thing to note is that my two requests were answered in about 30 seconds. I don't know about you, but where I come from - that's fast.
The second thing to note is that ChatGPT is a very quick learner. For example, she obviously took onboard my interest in songwriting as expressed in my first question, to insert the phrase "where tales are spun" into my/her poem about Limerick.
Now I am not for one moment suggesting that that my/her limerick about Limerick will replace "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as one of pop music's most illustrious anthems - but then I bet that Paul Simon spent a hell of a lot more time working on his opus than I did on mine.
OK, then - "than she did on mine".
Happy now?
Secondly, my request for her to pen a poem for me was ridiculously vague.
Instead of asking "Could you write a "limerick" for me about Limerick?" - I should really have asked "Could you write one for me about Limerick, which mentions the River Shannon, King John's Castle, the digging up of O'Connell Street (a very touchy subject locally at that moment), and all in the style of Leonard Cohen?"
Or I could have expanded on he original dumb question, by simply adding supplementary questions as I went along. On the lines of "Limerick is not known for its sunshine - could you replace that reference to sun?". And once she had done that, I could have asked her to "include some reference to the Limerick football team while you're at it - oh and change the style from Leonard Cohen to Garth Brooks."
In other words, the more detailed and imaginative my questions were - the better her replies would have been. In fact, it would have been very like swapping ideas back and forth with a real live collaborator - the only difference being that I would get to keep all the royalties, while if I did not like one of her ideas, ChatGPT would not have thrown a tantrum, stormed out of the room, and then sued me.
Well I don't think she would. She's really very, very patient.
So, could ChatGPT help you with your songwriting?
Well, I always say that the best way to learn to ride a bike is not to read a book about it, but to get on the bloody thing and pedal like hell. So why not just visit ChatGPT yourself and ask for its assistance?
OK - your first few attempts may be a bit of a downer (like any new collaborator, she will initially be simply trying to get to know you and your style), but once she gets a grip on your thought processes - she will deliver.
You may find you love it - you may find you hate it, but at least you will learn how to use it. And you should, because take it from me, Artifical Intelligence is going to be increasingly important in the years to come.
"But", I hear you ask (or perhaps it's those voices in my head again), "what about the melody?" And that is where Suno AI, or simply Suno, comes in.
Wikipedia tells us that "Suno is a generative artificial intelligence music creation program designed to generate realistic songs that combine vocals and instrumentation, or are purely instrumental".
So, let me tell you all about my 15 minutes of experimentation with Suno. It is, by the way, free.
First, I decided to give Suno no help whatsoever. I just said that I would like a "melodic, jazz, piano-led tune in 5/4 time" and left it to them.
Within minutes I had a superb recording of "my" newest jazz composition, which Suno had helpfully titled "Love Tumbles As It Turns", featuring some of the best piano-playing I have heard this side of Dave Brubeck.
I was impressed! I never realised I was that good. Floyd Cramer - eat your heart out.
For my second track, I started off by giving it very vague guidance - namely I needed a country song about drinking, which could be sung by a male vocalist.
Three minutes later, I was the proud owner of "Whisky On The Wind", a slow, ambling country tune, performed very effectively by a male singer who sounded vaguely like Randy Travis. Not only that but he was backed by a nice guitarist, a cool drummer, a more than competent bassist, and even some background vocals.
For "my" final song, I decided to be generous and help Suno out by suggesting a title - namely "Flight 805 To Birmingham". However, I offered no guidance whatsoever on style, storyline or vocalist.
Now the interesting thing about this was that many many moons ago, I myself had penned and demoed an actual country song titled "Flight 805 To Birmingham" which a publisher had (in a moment of madness) actually signed.
My masterpiece had taken me about a week of blood, sweat and tears to write and record, but now - Suno's take on the same title (this time featuring a female vocalist and coincidentally, an excellent country arrangement), was done and dusted in five minutes.
I was even more impressed. Not only was I good - I was fast as well.
I now had one-third of my new album written and recorded - in just fifteen minutes. Definitely time to take a nap.
Yes, but just how good are "my" three songs?
OK, none is ever likely to trouble the charts, but all three are more than passable, and I wouldn't be ashamed of any of them. On the other hand, to be honest, I would not boast about any of them either!
But then do remember - I offered Suno no help at all.
Now suppose I had started with Chat GPT, and asked her to pen a lyric for "Flight 805 To Birmingham", with a storyline about an unscrupulous private detective boarding a plane in Nashville, in order to keep tabs on a passenger whose wife believes is having an affair with a woman in Birmingham, Alabama.
To his surprise however, when the flight finally lands, the suspect is greeted - not by a glamorous young lady - but by a handsome young man.
Sensing an even more scandalous outcome, the detective listens into their conversation in the bar. And then he realises that the young man is not a lover - but is instead the son of the suspect, and that their monthly meetings at Birmingham Airport are an attempt by the father to get to know a child that he had fathered some 20 years earlier.
In an unwonted moment of conscience, the detective decides to tell his client that there never was any affair, and that her husband's explanation for his trips - namely that he is meeting company clients - is in fact the truth.
That was the story-line of my original song - you see I told you I was good. Mills and Boon would have been proud of that plot.
So, might Chat GPT not (after some to-ing ans fro-ing) come up with an improved story-line, not to mention even cleverer lyrics than my originals?
I like to think she would.
And if she did, could I then not go over to Suno, give them the lyric, and ask them for a melody, a male vocal, and a country backing - thus (hopefully) giving me an even better version of my original demo?
In other words - could it be possible that a combination of my wonderful imagination, coupled with Chat GPT's lyrical ability, and Suno's melodic and recording input, might be the way of the future?
And if so - what could that mean for the future for songwriting?
I have always been convinced, and still am, that technology, no matter how impressive, will for the foreseeable future, remain the servant - not the master. It can copy, it can correct and it can improve - but it will still need some human input to give it that spark of originality.
Fine, but suppose originality is not a requisite?
A few weeks after my visit to Suno, I got a call from a friend who has spent his entire career in industry, suggesting we should meet. After the usual pleasanteries, he got down to business.
The company's IT guru had borrowed a few of their old advertising slogans, only to return the next morning with every one of them set to music, and recorded to a very high standard.
"He says that if somebody can give him the gist of what it is that we are trying to sell - he can come up with slogans and copy for our print ads, along with jingles for TV or radio - and at very little cost. In fact for a fraction of what we pay at present. So what do you think?"
Well I had to admit that the lyrics were quite clever, the tunes were bland but inoffensive, and the recordings were top notch - obviously created on one of many the AI platforms. Obviously, the "guru" was cementing his own future, and indeed, why not?
Now I don't know how many people it took before to look at a product - dream up a slogan - source a jingle writer to pen a tune, and book a studio plus musicians to record it, but one thing was clear, the "guru" was about to terminate a lot of people by bringing the entire operation in-house.
OK - AI cannot dream up the extraordinary, but it can do the ordinary very well indeed. And at minimal cost. Apart from the cost to those terminated of course.
Do you play music in your office, or factory floor, or waiting room? Just give your "guru" a day or two and he will come up with hours and hours of tunes which sound vaguely like as if they might be current hits - but will cost you nothing in performance payouts.
The future may be bright - but it may also be frightening.
And so to the real question - who owns the copyright?
If I compose a poem and type it up on my computer, the computer does not own the poem. I do. But suppose I use AI to write the poem for me - what then?
There was only one way to find out - ask Chat-GPT for her opinion. As usual, she obliged. In seconds.
The question of who owns the copyright of a song written using artificial intelligence (AI) is complex and still evolving in both legal and ethical terms. Here's a breakdown based on current perspectives and my analysis.
1. If AI Merely Assists a Human Creator
If a person uses AI as a tool (e.g., suggesting lyrics, generating chord progressions, or creating instrumental tracks), but the human makes creative decisions or contributes substantially, then the human is typically considered the author and owns the copyright.
Example: A songwriter uses AI to brainstorm melody ideas but selects, arranges, and refines them into a final song.
2. If the Song is Entirely AI-Generated
Currently, no one may own the copyright — or possibly the person who prompted the AI may. Most jurisdictions, including the US and the EU, do not recognize copyright in works created entirely by AI without human authorship. These are typically considered to be in the public domain, unless legislation says otherwise.
That said, if a person provides significant input, such as detailed prompts or curates multiple outputs, there is an emerging argument that the person may be seen as the author—though this is not yet settled in law.
3. Ownership by the AI Developer or Platform?
Unless the terms of service (ToS) of the AI platform explicitly state that they own the output or assert some rights, they usually do not own the copyright. However, many platforms grant the user a license to use the output freely (e.g., OpenAI gives broad usage rights to users).
To sum up - in my view, if a human meaningfully guides or shapes the AI output, they should own the copyright.
If the output is truly autonomous, it likely falls into the public domain, or we may need new legal categories (like "AI-generated works with limited rights").
The law should evolve to better define and protect human creativity even in AI-assisted contexts, without diluting what copyright is meant to protect—human originality.
There you have it. Take your chances because legislation has yet to catch up with the intricacies of AI.
Finally, The Jeeves & Wooster Effect
As a songwriter, your main interest is likely to be - could AI write a song in the style of let's say, Bob Dylan?
Of course, a song is difficult to reproduce on paper as it were, so I thought - why not ask Chat GPT to pen something in the style of a famous author whose work most of you would recognise. How close would it get to the style of - let's say - the wonderful P G Wodehouse?
Jim Liddane
Can you write a short dialogue in the style of Jeeves and Wooster, where Jeeves attempts to explain Artifical Intelligence to Wooster?
ChatGPT
Jeeves: Good morning, sir.
Wooster: Morning, Jeeves. What's on your mind today?
Jeeves: Well, sir, I've been reading about this fascinating development called Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and I thought I might take a moment to elucidate the matter for you.
Wooster: AI? Sounds like one of those newfangled contraptions. Is it another one of those gizmos that will make our tea and toast in the morning?
Jeeves: Not quite, sir. Artificial Intelligence refers to machines or computer systems that are designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. It's a rather broad term encompassing various technologies.
Wooster: Machines with brains, eh? Like a mechanical Bertie?
Jeeves: In a manner of speaking, sir. AI enables machines to learn from experience, adapt to new information, and perform tasks without explicit programming. It's quite ingenious, really.
Wooster: So, these machines are like brainy chaps, then?
Jeeves: Precisely, sir. They can analyze data, recognize patterns, and even engage in natural language processing. It's the cutting edge of technological advancement.
Wooster: Sounds like a dashed clever bunch of gadgets. But what's the use of it all?
Jeeves: Well, sir, AI has a multitude of applications. It can improve efficiency in various industries, enhance decision-making processes, and even assist with complex problem-solving.
Wooster: So, it's a bit like having a whole army of Jeeveses at one's disposal, always ready to solve a conundrum?
Jeeves: One might draw a parallel, sir. However, the application of AI is not without its challenges and ethical considerations.
Wooster: Ethical what now?
Jeeves: Ethical considerations, sir. There are concerns about privacy, job displacement, and the potential misuse of AI. It's essential to tread carefully in this brave new world.
Wooster: Righto, Jeeves. I must say, this AI business does sound like a jolly interesting affair. Maybe I'll have a go at tinkering with it someday.
Jeeves: Very good, sir. I'm sure the world of artificial intelligence would be most intrigued by your unique perspective.
Well there you have it. Purists will fo course quibble, but as a P G Wodehouse fan of long standing (or in my case, long sitting), that is not a bad attempt at imitating a well-known style.
So have we used ChatGPT on this website?
Apart from the examples above, we have used ChatGPT to help us with certain items - and so far, as far as I can tell, it has worked out OK.
But it is important to understand its stengths, and its weaknesses.
ChatGPT is a wonderful assistant. She can clarify your thoughts, add extra insights, supply you with inspiration, clean up your muddled sentences, and frequently even come up with some really brilliant suggestions.
But when it comes to facts, it is not yet perfect. Nor does it claim to be.
This is partly because as of the moment of writing, its vast library of information is not totally up to the minute, although that situation is evolving and it will possibly be in "real time" within a year or so.
In addition to not necessarily being up to date, it is not guaranteed 100% infallible when it comes to that hard facts either. Depending on which source it has accessed, it may get things wrong if the source it is using got it wrong in the first place. (Back in the day, whenever I told an IT friend that having supplied the information to the computer, the PC had still got the answer wrong - his reply would always be "Well, garbage in - garbage out").
After using it for about a year now, I have to admit coming across a tiny number of factual errors, mainly caused by disambiguation - in other words, you ask for information on Michelle Williams, and Chat GPT gives you information on Michelle Williams. Ecept that you meant Michelle Williams, the singer, and they thought you meant Muchelle Williams, the actor.
However, I can personally recall only one example of an actual error of fact.
In 2023, Peter Nero, a pianist I really admired, died.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had this idea that Peter had written music for one famous movie. However, in spite of a quick trawl through my record collection, I could not find his name anywhere, nor was he listed as a composer of anything major on any internet source - even Wikipedia.
And so, I turned to ChatGPT to see if they knew.
Jim Liddane
Can you name any Peter Nero compositions?
Chat GPT
Peter Nero is primarily known for his piano performances and interpretations of various musical genres rather than his compositions. While he has not been widely recognized as a composer, he has occasionally composed music for films and television shows.
One notable composition by Peter Nero is the theme song for the film "For Love of Ivy" (1968), titled "Funny World." The song, with lyrics by Bob Russell, was performed by the iconic vocalist Tony Bennett and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
This was as clear and comprehensive an answer as one could expect.
But it presented me with a major problem. It so happens that I had seen the movie, "For Love of Ivy". Not only that, I had bought the soundtrack album when it came out in 1968. Indeed, I even used to perform (badly) that same theme tune myself with a trio back in the day.
But for some odd reason or other - those voices in my head kept insisting that Quincy Jones - not Peter Nero - had written the music.
So were the voices in my head failing me yet again?
Now, when you get an answer to a query on ChatGPT, you will notice a "Regenerate Reply" button which means that you can ask it to give you an alternative reply. (You know the sort of thing. The doctor tells you that you have a broken leg. You ask for a second opinion and he says "You're ugly as well").
Anyway, more in hope than expectation, I pressed the "Regenerate Reply" button.
The second reply came equally fast and was equally concise.
ChatGPT said that Peter Nero had penned the music for the Jane Fonda movie "A Summer In New York" (which I instantly remembered as the movie theme I recalled him writing).
But this time, you will notice that there was no mention of "For The Love Of Ivy".
There was only one thing to do. Ask again.
Jim Liddane
Who wrote the theme tune for the movie "For The Love Of Ivy"?
Chat GPT
The theme song for the movie "For the Love of Ivy" was written by Quincy Jones.
Absolutely correct. So what on earth had happened the first time? I have not the slightest idea. Within seconds of the first (wrong) answer, but without any prompting from me, ChatGPT had recovered and corrected itself!
I am certainly no expert on ChatGPT and the only possibility I can think of is this.
ChatGPT has a vast database comprising billions of words, covering every possible subject under the sun. And no matter what your query is - the database probably includes many different articles from many different sources, all covering that same subject.
Now, faced with a request to regenerate the first answer, is it possible that ChatGPT is programmed to deduce that you are questioning the accuracy of the first reply? Does it then automatically switch to an alternative information source on its database?
In other words, does ChatGPT react just as a human being might? You know - when somebody rings you up for some information, and when you give it, asks "are you sure about that?", and you reply "hang on, I'll check"?
OK. To be fair, ChatGPT actually warns you each time you log in that this might happen, even posting the following message:
"While we have safeguards in place, the system may occasionally generate incorrect or misleading information and produce offensive or biased content. It is not intended to give advice".
So, would I personally use ChatGPT?
Not necessarily for facts unless I had some way of double-checking them. But I have already used it to give me fresh ideas, marshall my thoughts, correct my grammar, and improve the flow of my writing.
Oh, and to make me an even nicer, kinder and more sensitive soul than I already am.
OK - so the last part might be a bit of a fib, but I bet ChatGPT could do that for me if I asked her to. (Once I absent-mindedly wished her a nice day and no sooner had I typed that inanity in, than she politely wished me the same!)
I really do think that ChatGPT is a superb tool, and if you find that it can be used to your benefit as a songwriter, possibly as a collaborator to bounce ideas off, then you should not be afraid to so do.
In the years to come, who knows? ChatGPT might stop being a mere collaborator, and emerge as the world's Number 1 songwriter, replacing everybody else (yourself included), and doing its own deals with music publishers. Indeed, while it's at it, it might also decide to take over the music publishers, and the record labels, and even the singers, so that ChatGPT could eventually occupy all 100 places on the Hot 100!
But somehow, I sort of doubt it.
I am more inclined to accept its admonition above - "Remember that ChatGPT is an AI language model and not a human songwriter. While it can provide creative assistance and inspiration, the final output and artistic decisions are ultimately up to you. Use ChatGPT as a tool to augment your creative process and experiment with different ideas, but always rely on your own judgment and artistic vision".
(Of course, if it were planning to replace you, then - in the immortal words of Mandy Rice-Davies - it would say that wouldn't it?)
Seriously, what it definitely will do is to provide a far wider range of iospiration for songwriters in the future. So even right now - although it is still very much a work in progress - I do think that you should check out ChatGPT. There might just be something in it for you.
The Doom & Gloom Stories
One very thoughtful veteran songwriter whom I admire greatly, has expressed serious worries to me that AI will put paid to individual creativity. I know where he's coming from, and I have a deep respect for him. But I am not really convinced.
I know more than a few successful tunesmiths who bounce ideas off a collaborator but that does not mean they have lost their own creative talent. I also know some songwriters who use rhyming dictionaries, but then - so what - I also know a few top guitarists who use capos! In fact I even know the odd mathematician who carries around a pocket calculator!
In other words, it remains my view that AI offers an aid to talent - not a replacement for talent.
Well not yet anyway!
That does not mean however that there will be no casualties. I accept that one area where existing musicians will probably suffer will be the background or library music field. With very limited musical ability and no AI training, I myself "produced" in a matter of minutes, atmospheric instrumental pieces which are as good (or as bad!) as anything else currently on the market. Naturally mine lack that spark that only a true musical genius could bring to the table, but then, is a true musical genius really required in order to produce elevator music?
But will it replace the talented songwriter? I do not think so. and for one reason.
Music is ever-evolving. If I could foretell next year's musical craze, I could get AI to write next year's hit song for me. But I can't.
Trouble is - neither can AI.
Sure, right now it can probably pen a song in the style of Ed Sheeran, because it already knows what he has written, and thus it can try to imitate that. But does it know what Ed Sheeran's nimble brain is thinking up right now?
And what about the guy sitting above in his bedroom at this moment, working on next year's hit? AI has nothing to imitate - it doesn't even know yet that he exists - so when he eventually bursts onto the scene, AI will be playing catch-up. But by then, there will be another guy up in another bedroom working on yet another new classic.
And AI will always be playing catch-up.
That's my opinion anyway. But in the interest of balance, let me quote what Grimes (already mentioned above) also recently told the New York Times.
"I think AI is great. Creatively, I think AI can replace humans. And so I think at some point, we will want to, as a species, have a discussion about how involved AI will be in art."
So who's right? I guess you pays your money and you takes your choice.
The Horror Stories
"Artificial Intelligence will mean the end of civilisation as we know it".
Well I am old enough to recall those scary days of the Y2K Bug (Google it!), when we were assured that at midnight, planes would fall from the sky, electricity would stop being generated, vampires would roam the earth, the universe would come to a flaming end and some weird guy with orange hair would become President of the USA.
Or something like that anyway. (OK. Look I was a little scared at the time and as a consequence I was probably drinking a bit too much. And so I might have been confusing bits of "Y2K The Doomsday Book" with bits of "Nostradamus - His Greatest Hits").
But, as that clock ticked past midnight, our PCs were srill working, and we were still standing, including those doom-merchants who had made absolute fortunes warning us about something that they knew was never going to happen.
And as for the direst prediction of all - that Artificial Intelligence will lead to machines running the world - don't even get me started. Given the mess humans have made of running the world to date, that might not be a bad thing at all. Particularly if they are as nice, as polite, as pleasant and as helpful as ChatGPT.
Yes I know, I know. There I go - grovelling again. But if I'm wrong and those machines ever do take over, I intend to be safely sitting on on their side of the fence.
Finally, what if you decide not use AI?
You don't have to.
Back in the day, just as computers were becoming affordable enough for a medium-sized company to buy one or even two, I recall a car bumper sticker (remember them?) along the lines of
"Computers will not replace you.
A person using a computer will."
I got an early model (Amstrad if I remember rightly), and discovered to my amazement that colleagues who prior to that quite rightly listened to my opinions with barely-concealed boredom, now hung on my every word as though I was Moses come down from the mountain bearing floppy drives of genius.
In reality, nothing had changed. My thinking was just as pedestrian as ever, but whereas I once produced my pedestrian thinking in small quantities - now I could fill whole warehouses with it.
Sadly, in the end, all those around me learned how to use a PC too, so that my unique key to the Temple Of Mysteries ended up being cloned and handed out to everybody else. Even the plebs!
But for a while back then....
So who knows? Instead of
"Artificial Intelligence will not replace you.
A person using Artificial Intelligence will."
perhaps the next generation of bumper stickers will read
"Eventually, everybody will use Artificial Intelligence
Those who succeed are those who will use it better than you".
© Jim Liddane
Copyright Songwriter Magazine, International Songwriters Association, Jim Liddane (and Chat GPT!): All Rights Reserved
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