And now I’m a…Cartoon!

Have you ever heard of the Luddites?  In the 1700’s Lancashire Mill owners introduced new spinning machines into their factories meaning they were able to employ fewer, lower skilled, lower paid workers. Finding their jobs at risk or the prospect of having to accept lower wages, ‘skilled’ workers took to destroying the machines that were replacing them.

The Luddites didn’t always turn straight to violence.  Often they would write to the Mill owners threatening direct action often signing the letter as coming from ‘Ned Ludd’, a legendary apprentice who was said to have destroyed two stocking frames in 1779. And it wasn’t just mill workers who took this type of direct action. In the early 1800’s agricultural workers took to destroying threshing machines which they saw as destroying their livelihoods and their way of life.

Of course the Mill owners and large land owners reacted doing whatever they needed to protect their machines and profits. These guys weren’t messing around either; up to 12,000 government troops were sent into areas of Luddite activity with many suspected Luddites shot on sight. 

Soon laws like the ‘Protection of Stocking Frames Act 1788’ were passed with penalties including transportation to penal colonies or execution. The government wanted to make an example of those protesters challenging the authorities. It is thought up to 60 Luddites were hanged for their ‘crimes’.

These days the term ‘Luddite’ is used for anyone opposing new technology. Many historians argue that these workers weren’t actually against new machines making their lives easier, what they were protesting about was having their wages cut or losing their jobs completely.

Of course history keeps repeating itself with new ideas or machines wiping out some industries almost overnight.

In the old days packing a ship was a skilled job where dock workers would man handle all of the goods from the truck into the belly of the ship.  They had to work out how to distribute the cargo to balance the load and avoid accidents at sea.  The arrival of the shipping container meant a whole swathe of skilled jobs disappeared never to return.

In my life time the computer has changed the world completely.  In the world of architects and accountants, computers have replaced draughtsmen and book keepers, emails have decimated the postal industry, online shopping has changed the face of the High Street.  In the early days I’m sure many tried their best to stick with the old ways, but you really can’t stand against the march of progress.

Which brings me to the music industry.  So much has changed since I started recording in 1973.  Back then you really needed to get a recording contract to make a record.  The studios were expensive and then you had all of the team needed in the art department and promotions to work on the record before it could be released.  How my world has changed.

Once again it started with computers.  They started infiltrating the studios, slowly at first, but within a decade they were starting to replace tape machines.  Not only could they record the sound you made they were also able to create sounds that had never been heard before.

Then came AI.  It’s hard for us, the ordinary man on the street, to understand exactly how powerful AI is already, and how powerful it will be in the future.  Over the past few weeks we have had a little taste of what’s possible.  I wasn’t expecting to wake up one morning to see a picture of Snoop Dogg outside a café in Swansea.  Within an hour Snoop was to be found all over the region, in hairdressers and restaurants, in pubs and ice cream parlours. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one taken in. Having been brought up to believe the camera never lies it was an easy mistake to make because the pictures were so realistic. 

@swansofficial

He found the shirt that fits. @Snoop Dogg #snoopdogg #swanseacity

♬ original sound - Swansea City AFC

The trouble is once you’ve been taken in by AI you start to lose your trust in everything you see.  It was only when I saw a video on the official Swansea City website showing Snoop in a new Swansea City top, eating Joe’s Ice Cream that I actually started to believe that his involvement in the club might actually be true.

When it comes to music AI is bringing in all kinds of tools to either equip a new generation of creators or maybe to destroy the industry completely. My friend Steve Balsamo has spent a lot of time researching this topic.  What he showed me was awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

Steve had asked AI to write a song. He gave the program a few prompts to set the theme of the lyric and then suggested the style of a songwriter he particularly liked.  He then took the song and asked AI to orchestrate it and get an AI voice to sing it.

As I sat there listening to the ‘finished’ product I thought to myself, yep…we are all ‘finished’!!!

This picture looks like a cartoon…but it’s real!!!

So what do we do, throw in the towel? Do we become 21^st Century Luddites going around destroying computers in the hope we can protect ourselves…or do we embrace the change and bend it to our will?

I must admit to being a bit of a tech geek.  I love the gadgets and computer programmes that open up new possibilities.  Where once you needed a music industry to produce and release a record now I can do that at home and release it to all of the streaming sites within hours for next to nothing.

These days every release needs the video to go with it.  Computers and mobile phones have made video production an everyday task, all within the financial grasp of an aspiring musician or band. These days I probably spend more time on the video than recording the record.

My latest video is different.  It started off as one of those conversations you have in between gigs.  We had got to the Ffwrness Theatre nice and early for a concert back in July with Steve Balsamo. After he had told us all about AI created music I started thinking about the possibilities with video.

The new video started out using real footage from my old TV show. Then my old friend Ian Parsons started working his magic and within a week we had something completely different.  These are early days for AI video but it’s certainly getting people talking and all I can think is if its creating videos like this now… what will they be like next year.