Could AI Algorithms One Day Make Better Art than Humans?
“What might happen once external algorithms are able to understand and manipulate human emotions better than Shakespeare, Picasso or Lennon?”
This was the question posed by Yuval Noah Harari, author of the 2015 book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” and a new book published in February, “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow,” in a provocative Bloomberg article posted earlier this month.
The essay begins by positing a machine analyzing vast amounts of biometric data would be able to predict what will make humans happy.
“In the not-too-distant future, a machine-learning algorithm could analyze the biometric data streaming from sensors on and inside your body, determine your personality type and your changing moods, and calculate the emotional impact that a particular song — or even a particular musical key — is likely to have on you.
Music would most likely be the test case here. “Of all forms of art, music is probably the most susceptible to Big Data analysis, because both inputs and outputs lend themselves to mathematical depiction,” he wrote.
Not all readers agreed with Harari’s premise, however.
“It’s reductionist nonsense,” one commented. Another called it “irresponsible writing” noting that the article “presumes that emotions (and even all of consciousness) is reducible to ‘biochemical’…processes.”
Even Bloomberg maintained a distance. Appended at the bottom of the essay is a disclaimer that Harari’s piece “does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.”
In Harari’s hypothetical, there’s no limit to what the algorithm could learn — your moods, moods in general — when calculating the perfect song to play. It could even calculate the appropriate level of randomness to try to simulate some kind of serendipity. “No human DJ could ever hope to match the skills of such an AI,” he predicted.
This raises more hypothetical questions — should the AI follow your moods, or try to improve them? He posits an “eminent psychologist” recommending songs to help us through bad moods, starting with Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” In the case of a break-up, the perfect playlist might culminate with “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor and some special set-closing consolation from Bob Marley’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.
