Hi-Phi Nation

Rise of the Music Machines

Exploring A.I. vocal mimicry, music generation, and musical improvisation.

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Episode Notes

On this show we explore three different A.I. and machine-generated music technologies: vocal emulators that allow you to deep fake a singer or rapper’s voice, A.I.-generated compositions and text-to-music generators like Google Music LM and Open AI’s Jukebox, and musical improvisation technologies. We listen to the variety of music these technologies generate, and hear two guitarists facing off against an A.I. in improvised guitar solos.

Along the way, we talk to philosophers of music Robin James and Theodore Gracyk about what musical creativity is and whether machines are more or less creative than human musicians, and Barry gives his take on each of the technologies and what they mean for the future of musical creativity.

For all episodes of Hi-Phi Nation, visit www.hiphination.org

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About the Show

Hi-Phi Nation is philosophy in story form, integrating narrative journalism with big ideas. We look at stories from everyday life, law, science, popular culture, and strange corners of human experiences that raise thought-provoking questions about things like justice, knowledge, the self, morality, and existence. We then seek answers with the help of academics and philosophers. The show is produced and hosted by Barry Lam of Vassar College.

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Host

  • Barry Lam is host and producer of Hi-Phi Nation and Professor of Philosophy at UC Riverside, and Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University.