AI is at a juncture where growing concerns about its ethical use span across all applications. In the field of generative AI in music, most ethical concerns are linked to its role in creative processes, the contentious practices in preparation of datasets, potential copyright infringement, the perpetuation of bias, and lack of cultural inclusion, among others. Policymakers are pressuring regulation to cover these issues, like with the AI Act in the European Union. 

At the same time, generative AI in music is reaching the culmination of its capabilities in automatic content generation, with models like the recently published Stable Audio 2.0, while over 200 musicians have recently signed a call for protection against the “predatory use of AI”, opposing the violation of creators’ rights.

In this atmosphere, how can the research community navigate away from the questionable practices of the field, moving towards an artist-centric sustainable future, where the creative potential of generative music AI is brought to the center of its investigation? Why are critical art practices a useful tool for the success of such a paradigm shift? How can the collaboration between artists and researchers enrich the practices of both fields?

On Monday, April 29th, at 18:30 we invite you to a presentation by Moisés Horta Valenzuela, a critically acclaimed electronic musician and independent researcher in the field of generative music AI, where he will talk about his practice, from both a hands-on and theoretical perspective. The presentation will be followed by an open discussion with the participation of Moisés Horta and two researchers from MTG: Roser Batlle Roca, a predoctoral researcher in transparency and ethics in music generative AI, and Błażej Kotowski, an artist and predoctoral researcher specializing in music creativity in AI.

Bios

Moisés Horta Valenzuela

Recording under the name 𝔥𝔢𝔵𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔰𝔪𝔬𝔰, Moisés Horta is redefining the possibilities of music. His new album ‘MUTUALISMX’, released on Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label, is a radical collaborative and technological project, where contributors ranging from Ale Hop and KMRU to Khyam Allami and Portrait XO use his SEMILLA.AI synthesiser to interact with an AI to create bold new music. Based on principles taken from ancient Mexican techniques for predicting the future, SEMILLA is a generative audio tool like no other.

Roser Batlle Roca 

Roser Batlle Roca, telecom engineer, is a predoctoral researcher on transparency and ethics in music generative AI at the MTG-UPF, in collaboration with the JRC-EC (Joint Research Centre-European Commission) and Sony AI. 

Błażej Kotowski

Błażej Kotowski is an artist and a predoctoral researcher on creativity and controllability in music AI at MTG-UPF. 

Information

Date: April 29th, at 18:30h
Place: Sala Nau, UPF Campus Poblenou, Roc Boronat 138, Bacelona, and online
 

Video: https://youtu.be/7NhjWi2BhBw

This event is part of the Cátedra UPF-BMAT en Inteligencia Articial y Música (TSI-100929-2023-1). Project funded by Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, and Unión Europea-Next Generation EU