AI at the Service of Experimentation and Emotion?

Artificial intelligence is considered the major event of our time. This technological revolution that has long been fantasized about and has been fully present in recent years is certainly a topic that obsesses society.

On April 10 and 11, a conference will be held at the Philharmonie de Paris in collaboration with France Culture focusing on the powers of sound, with a reflection on what AI does to sound, especially in the realm of music. Questions arise everywhere, even in our individual lives, among so many other questions: who is really the author of the work? Do we still talk about creation? Does the emotion come from the music or the fact that a human composed it? Are we heading towards a world where playing an instrument will become obsolete?

In 1981, experimental artist Laurie Anderson gave audiences a robotized voice in her famous song “O Superman,” in which she used the Roland vocoder in the manner of an ancient tragic chorus. Today, this artist over 70 years old continues to explore the possibilities offered by technology, creating models to imitate or modify her voice, generate texts and narrative ideas, or for her performances. For her, AI is above all an artistic tool.