Something New: Artificial Intelligence and the Perils of Plunder - Music Business Worldwide

The following MBW op/ed comes from Michael Nash (pictured inset, below), Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Universal Music Group. AI is transforming the ways we live, work and play – from chatbots that answer complex questions to systems that can write passable screenplays to programs that have passed part of a bar exam in the US. AI is now creating imagery comparable to professional artists -- with one AI-generated portrait being sold for £40,000 at Sotheby's and another composition winning a State Fair competition in Colorado. Learning from millions of images with associated descriptions of subject matter, composition, methodology and other inputs, the most advanced AI can now generate derivative output that closely mimics original creators' distinct styles. In some cases, this is used to produce outright fakes.