AI, Retro, and Music of Our Time

As musicians, how should we respond to the rise of AI in music? In this video, based on an article I wrote for the SEAMUS Journal, I explore the cultural, ethical, and artistic implications of generative AI tools. Rather than framing AI as a threat or miracle, I argue that it’s a technology we must actively engage with, both critically and creatively.

Rather than surrendering to nostalgia or automation, artists can explore how to engage AI as a tool for meaningful, speculative, and human expression.

🧠 No one owns the technofuture.

0:00 Music that speaks to our time
1:07 Results: text to music
1:36 Limitations of existing data (biases and cartoon models)
2:50 Mark Fisher and the problem of nostalgia
4:11 AI and automating nostalgia
4:42 The creative potential of generative AI
6:13 What should artists do?