In Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey — inspired from science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s classic 1951 short story “The Sentinel” — we are introduced to HAL 9000, the onboard supercomputer who’s in charge of managing the intricacies of a spaceship on its way from Earth to Jupiter. What makes HAL so exceptional is that HAL is actually a sentient entity that interacts with the crew of scientists and astronauts during their voyage. During the flight, HAL starts to malfunction, due to HAL being given conflicting commands. The scientists who had programmed HAL directed him to be truthful with the crew whereas the politicians in charge of the mission directed HAL to lie about the true nature of the undertaking. This conflict in directives causes HAL to malfunction. When the ground crew realizes that HAL is not functioning properly, they instruct the astronauts to shut down the supercomputer. In a moment of self-preservation, HAL realizes that if the crew was no longer on board, then his conflict would be resolved, and he then sets about killing the crew.
Open the Pod Bay Doors, HAL
While the 2001: A Space Odyssey story appears to focus on the philosophical problems of a sentient super-computer, the final judgement appears to be that HAL’s failure occurred due to human error in programming two mutually conflicting orders. Of course, as a “thinking” being, HAL could have come to the other conclusion that to end his personal I/O dilemma he would tell the crew the truth about their mission. Ironically, the philosophy and dangers of AI have been questioned for many years, going back to the mid-1700s and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the years, automated machinery has been seen as a boon to economic growth as well as a death knell for many jobs. While being a boon to big business, these same machines helped bring about the unions that changed unjust working conditions.
Now, with the advent of supercomputers, we are examining the morals of building the futuristic Frankenstein monster — robots who can do a job better and faster and without needing a union-mandated break — unless they become thinking creatures who rebel against their makers. For those interested, there are quite a few movies and books other than 2001: A Space Odyssey that have successfully explored this theme. While the philosophical aspects of AI are a bit frightening, there are other facets of AI that are also worrisome. In March of 2023, Goldman Sachs released a report predicting that AI could eventually replace 300 million jobs worldwide. The global career transitioning firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas released a report in May 2023 claiming that about four thousand people have already been laid off because of AI.
Regardless of the inherent good and evil associated with Artificial Intelligence, AI has been with us and is here to stay. Examples of AI are found in every car, mobile phone, Siri, Alexa, self-checkout, GPS, film, photos and chatbots such as ChatGPT. AI can also write term papers and songs as well sing them in the voice of one’s favorite artist. Software, such as those produced by Synthesia or Lovo.ai, can generate virtual videos of celebrities and manage their voices and movements. One can only imagine the inherent dangers of these platforms, as AI gathers information for advertising and who knows what else.
The Audio Angle
So, how does (and will) AI affect the world of live audio? Will it enhance what we do or put us all out of a job? Bear with me as I let my imagination roam into the realm of the future. Be aware that anything I can imagine is most likely akin to a military reality and will be sold to the public in about 20 years. That said, we already use basic forms of AI. Using a flash drive of one’s latest show to bring your mix to another town or country is AI, but maybe sometime soon when you bring up your mix, the console will analyze the mix in relation to each different venue you’re playing and adapt it accordingly. Possibly touch screens will become a thing of the past as voice activated commands will be given. “Alexa, put the horns into a DCA with a three to one compression ratio, with the correct make-up gain.” “Siri, properly gate the drums.”
This all seems feasible, but taking it further, why not have a console that can hear the band, discern each instrument, assign each instrument a channel, figure out what type of music the band plays and draw from a databank of the best mixes suited for said band and apply one that makes them sound great? The console can intuitively change the timbre of the vocals as well as Auto-Tune them and the horns. The AI console could even change keyboard patches or guitar sounds to those it considers better for the song. Regardless of band size, each member of the band could speak to the console regarding their ear or wedge monitor mixes and the console would comply with an endless number of stereo mixes for each player.
Will Work for Bytes
Would engineers be put out of work? Would new jobs be created? Seems like that’s the way of new technology. Maybe the console would be able to set itself up and maybe it could mix from anywhere, or maybe the console would need a handler. Since music is emotional, the AI might have “feelings” so it could be expressive in its mix. This sensitive console might take offense if the handler should suggest something to improve the mix. “You think you can do it better?” says the defensive console to the handler. “Go ahead and show me what you would do.” As soon as the handler touches the console, the AI finds a way to make the handler the ground, and poof, the handler goes up in smoke, leaving the console to ensure its own perfect mix. Will the sentient console feel remorse, or will it take umbrage with the next person who offers a bit of mixing advice?
Remember the new adage, “Don’t piss off the AI audio console!”
