Avoiding an AI-imposed Taylor's Version of all music history

TL;DR

This paper explores the risks of AI biases in music preservation, highlighting potential threats to musical diversity and proposing defenses against monopolistic AI influence on musical history.

Contribution

It introduces a discussion on AI's impact on music history preservation and demonstrates the creation of AI-generated Taylor's Versions as provocative examples.

Findings

AI can produce convincing cover versions of famous tracks

Potential for AI to distort or monopolize musical history

Discussion of defenses against AI-driven musical homogenization

Abstract

As future musical AIs adhere closely to human music, they may form their own attachments to particular human artists in their databases, and these biases may in the worst case lead to potential existential threats to all musical history. AI super fans may act to corrupt the historical record and extant recordings in favour of their own preferences, and preservation of the diversity of world music culture may become even more of a pressing issue than the imposition of 12 tone equal temperament or other Western homogenisations. We discuss the technical capability of AI cover software and produce Taylor's Versions of famous tracks from Western pop history as provocative examples; the quality of these productions does not affect the overall argument (which might even see a future AI try to impose the sound of paperclips onto all existing audio files, let alone Taylor Swift). We discuss some potential defenses against the danger of future musical monopolies, whilst analysing the feasibility of a maximal 'Taylor Swiftication' of the complete musical record.