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Transcript/Script AI in Arts and Entertainment
TEASER: AI is winning photography contests and performing in comedy troupes, but some say it lacks a human element
PUBLISHED AT: 4/26/2023 at 8:50 p.m.
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Roy Kim, Mike O’Sullivan
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Bowman
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AP, Reuters, Storyblocks
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:36
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRODUCTION)) Artificial intelligence, or AI, could potentially transform arts and entertainment, from music to movies, but it is also raising concerns. Is AI a creative tool or a threat to creators and artists? VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan examines the question.
((NARRATOR))
German artist Boris Eldagsen won a prestigious Sony World Photography Award in March but turned it down, admitting that his entry was not a photograph but an AI-generated image. He said he hoped to start a discussion.
((CREDIT: OpenAI/ChatGPT))
AI tools such as ChatGPT can also write a story, says AI researcher Jonathan May at the University of Southern California. ((end credit))
((Jonathan May, University of Southern California))
“A coherent story for the most part, but not particularly a very interesting story. I’m not an editor of fiction or anything like that, but from what I’ve seen, the fiction that comes out from these models [AI tools] is not anything that I would ever pay to have published.”
((NARRATOR)) ((CREDIT: Improbotics))
Another AI researcher whose hobby is comedy includes an AI robot in his London-based improvisational troupe, called Improbotics.
((NATS UP, MAN HOLDING SMALL ROBOT))
((CREDIT: Improbotics))
((MAN)) “I was really pleased that you wanted to see me again.”
((ROBOT)) “We are going to the zoo.”
((NARRATOR)) ((CREDIT: Improbotics))
He says AI is impressive but does not understand context, as human performers do.
((FOR RADIO: AI researcher and performer Piotr Mirowski ((PR: pee-OH-tr mir-OW-skee)).
((Piotr Mirowski, AI Researcher and Improbotics Co-founder))((Skype))
“It doesn’t know how many people are in the room. It doesn’t know if someone is crying.”
((NARRATOR)) ((CREDIT: Improbotics))
And he says AI often produces mediocre content when it replaces a performer …
or a writer.
((Piotr Mirowski, AI Researcher and Improbotics Co-founder))((Skype))
“And the question now is, but why do you need a ghost writer? I mean, why don’t you just write it yourself?
((NARRATOR)) ((CREDIT: University of Southampton))
But people want to explore the boundaries between humans and machines. At Britain’s University of Southampton, musicians combine AI-generated themes with improvised jazz.
((NARRATOR))
An Emmy-winning composer who has served as music director for two Olympic Games, says AI can produce background music for game shows, for example.
((FOR RADIO: Composer Mark Watters.))
((Mark Watters, Eastman School of Music))((Skype))
“The criteria is not that it be brilliantly unique. The idea is that it have energy, or that it has humor, or that it is conveying the right emotion.”
((NARRATOR)) ((CREDIT: MuseNet/OpenAI))
He says AI can create that, but AI tools lack the passion of an artist. ((end credit))
Researcher Jonathan May agrees.
((Jonathan May, University of Southern California))
“They don’t have the lived experience. They don’t have the traumas and the day-to-day lives and the developing world view as growing up as a human that we as other humans can relate to.”
((NARRATOR))
And they lack the creative spark that hasn’t yet been programmed into a computer.
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Los Angeles
Embargo DateApril 26, 2023 20:58 EDT
Byline
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
