Is AI going to kill Hifi?

@gents

What we have observed over the past 15 years when it comes to searches and queries is that one's interaction on the internet is recorded. There have been a plethora of unscrupulous folks who have unwittingly asked their computers questions that lead to their arrest and conviction.

Ask A.I. how long your queries are saved and this is the response I got:

When you ask a question to an AI, the interaction may be recorded and stored for varying durations, depending on the specific AI system and its data retention policies

Basically, I take this as "we will do whatever we like with your data". It is why I left social media (Disclaimer: I am still on this site ;) as everything you say on those sites is there forever. For those that have been in the business of technology, you know that everything on the internet is recorded and there is no law that makes that illegal. 

So go ahead, query A.I. to find the right poison (eye drops?) or just ask A.I. to create your manifesto to end the world. 

I could take it a step further - minority report anyone? - and figure that A.I. just may be the perfect place to find unsavory folks who are leaning into darkness. Queries can be misconstrued, but if there are a number of troubling queries made by someone who is known to be either a felon, demented, or on medication, you may have to explain yourself to the authorities.

Make sure your documents are in order.

Humans tend to love shortcuts, AI provides a more efficient use of one's time. Benefits of AI will gain salience through marketing,/propaganda, costs will be hidden and/or ignored. 

How many times have we seen movies written one hundred years ago become reality, when it comes to predicting the future thought to be science fiction then. IMHO, AI will be the end of mankind as we know it. It will become Autonomous which eventually will be the end of us. As far as Hi-Fi goes, there will be no one left to listen.

Al in music

In the late 60s with the Moog synthesiser bursting on the scene, record companies went bonkers and released “computer music“ (electronic music) in the 70s.

The idea was that computers actually composed the music on these records. A gimmick that lasted a short time as it was of novelty value and complete rubbish. I strongly believe it was a publicity stunt and humans were involved.

With the proposition that AI will write music it would have to have feelings and a soul first or it will go the way of computer music

Feel free to label me a socialist or freeloader (I’m neither — though I’m a big fan of *effective* regulation), but if AI is as remotely as powerful and successful (and disruptive) as predicted, not only the concept, but the implementation of a decent Universal Basic Income is going to be damned necessary. The alternative, should unbalanced wealth distribution continue, will be societal unrest… and a damn unpleasant time for all. FWIW, this is not political; it is economic.
 

Back to HiFi, I think AI in music could be incredibly positive. Not as far as creating new music, but as a (re)mastering technology. There’s so much music from the 20th century that has less than favorable sound quality (for all sorts of reasons), but imagine if someone conscientiously creates thoughtful, accurate algorithms (itself an art) for musicians (one I always think of is Jimmy Garrison) so that both studio and live performances could be played back as close to what someone physically present would’ve heard and felt. 
 

Imagine if you were in the studio at the time of the recording of Kind of Blue or A Love Supreme and you could walk amongst the musicians. I think AI could do a convincing job of emulating that.