Imagine a world where unchained melodies combining cultures and sounds centuries apart are created and fused in milliseconds. Or viewing a full-length feature film with the world’s most famous actors that have long moved on to a better place.  

These are just a couple of examples of how generative AI is reshaping the boundaries of multimedia and art in less than a year, rocking the foundations of human endeavor, and disrupting all perceptions of what is possible in the new AI era. 

Yet, fears that AI can take over all concepts of human creativity are overblown, and for the world’s artists, creatives, and musicians, AI has rather democratized creativity, serving as a fertile ground for new artistic movements, according to tech experts. 

Aarash Darroodi, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Fender Guitars believes that while AI can replicate, create, and innovate new sounds from instruments hitherto deemed impossible, it will never replace the human ‘emotional footprint’.

“I sincerely believe that AI will help humans discover new sounds and genres of music, however the greatest art, including music, comes directly from human emotions,” says Darroodi, a speaker at Gitex Global's AI Everything conference in Dubai this October. 

“Happiness, sadness, love, pain, fear, are things that a computer just can’t replicate. The human ‘emotional fingerprint’ will still be required to create great music and art, and I see AI as a tool for creation, not as the creator.”

Darroodi said the initial reaction to any leap in technology in humanity, is fear and resistance, but this quickly dissipates as perceived utility increases. 

“The greatest art comes from the interaction of a diverse set of humans, however, this process takes a long time and is difficult to do,” said Darroodi, who will speak about how AI, the blockchain, and the metaverse will forever change music creation, ownership, and distribution, at Gitex Global, which takes place from 16-20 October 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.  

“Imagine AI simulating these interactions, even millions of interactions, in seconds. The world will never be the same again. AI is not only going to be part of our lives, it’s going to define the future of our lives and the future of humanity.”

An AI-infused Fertile Ground for New Creative Movements

Darroodi’s comments are mirrored by fellow Gitex Global speaker Sweek Kiat Lim, Co-Founder of Pebblely, a generative AI tool that transforms seemingly boring pictures into beautiful marketing assets in seconds. Lim likens AI’s emergence to that of photography in the 19^th century, which may have had its skeptics among realism painters of the time.

“When photography was invented in the 19^th century, it probably evoked a similar range of reactions from the artistic circles at the time,” says Lim, a speaker at AI Everything on generative AI media for the real world. “But in hindsight, photography liberated artists from the need to depict reality as is and catalyzed the emergence of impressionism. 

“Likewise, the current wake of AI-powered technologies will no doubt serve as fertile ground for new creative movements. To expect otherwise would be to severely underestimate the ingenuity of the human creative spirit.”

Lim said the open-source community will continue to play a major role in the development of AI technologies, but these projects will probably remain in the realm of hackers: “Transforming these into user-friendly mass-market apps will require more specialized and dedicated teams, whether in the form of start-ups or enterprises,” added Lim.  

“I’m hopeful that the lowering costs of these open-source developments will level the playing field for small start-ups to compete on equal terms with larger corporations, which means we’ll see a proliferation of start-ups delivering amazing products and outpacing the tech giants. Technology-wise, video is definitely on the horizon, as well as 3D models, and even maybe an AI-generated feature-length film by the end of next year?”

Democratizing Multi-Media Creativity

Meanwhile, Moti Levy, the CEO of DeviantArt, said DeviantArt is witnessing an exponential growth of people using generative AI tools. In his opinion, this is no different than other creative tech disruptions throughout history, including the revolution of digital art and the introduction of tools such as Photoshop.

“AI tools are helping to democratize creativity,” said Levy, who will scrutinize art’s future at the AI Everything Conference in the new AI era. “These tools empower people who always wanted to be creative, to translate their dreams, fears, thoughts, and feelings into something more than just words. Now, with the introduction of generative AI tools, people can express themselves in new ways.

Levy said there are many creators in the art community who’re already incorporating AI tools into their workflows and processes, but AI tools, like any other tools, are not an art form, but rather another technological tool. “We are big supporters of any technology that pushes the creative boundaries forward and enables more people to express themselves,” he added. 

“We should embrace AI tools, but we should also be smart and responsible in how we utilize these tools while providing the relevant protections, checks, and balances for the creator community.”