The existence of artificial intelligence (AI) is inevitable. AI is one of the big challenges that must be faced in all sectors of human life in the contemporary era, including artists, especially musicians. Policymakers need to immediately design strategies and take real action to address the existence of AI so that potentially dangerous problems do not arise.
In the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), artificial intelligence (AI) is described as a computer program that imitates human intelligence, such as making decisions, providing a basis for reasoning, and characteristics generally possessed by humans.
In the development of AI, we know a field called machine learning. Machine learning gives computers the ability to learn on their own without being programmed by humans. Machine learning has several methods, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, deep learning (which includes a method known as generative AI), and knowledge graphs.
Regarding art, especially music, it would be a good idea for us to focus on discussing deep learning and generative AI because these methods are disrupting and turning artistic practices upside down and shaking up the world today.
Deep learning is an AI method that teaches computers to process data in a way inspired by the human brain. Deep learning can recognize complex patterns in images, text, sound and other data to produce accurate predictions.
Generative AI is a part of deep learning methods that are capable of generating new content, such as images, videos, music or text, based on patterns and examples provided during the training phase. This AI model is currently shaking up the world through programs such as ChatGPT and Dall-E created by the OpenAI company.
Generative AI Datasets and Problems
Quoting KBBI once again, data is information in a form that a computer, such as digital representations of text, numbers, graphic images, or sound, can process. Generative AI is able to produce images from objects that do not exist or produce new musical compositions by analyzing and understanding patterns through training data to imitate, take, and even combine the styles and characteristics of one or various artists.
This then becomes a problem because the works that are “produced” by generative AI do not care about applicable human principles.
These problems include the lack of control. Generative AI models may produce unexpected or unwanted output, making it difficult to control the resulting content. In addition, Generative AI models can retain biases and prejudices that exist in the training data – these biases depend on the human paradigm that trained them – and are prone to producing discriminatory or dangerous output.
Then there are ethical issues. The use of generative AI raises ethical concerns because it is prone to providing misleading information, such as deep fakes, and has the potential to be used for undesirable things. The presence of AI in the world of music also disrupts the rules regarding intellectual property rights, and this is because generative AI can violate intellectual property rights when producing content that plagiarizes or replicates copyrighted material.
Another problem is non-transparency. The way generative AI models that simulate human brains (neural networks) work is very complex, and it is difficult to set parameters, causing a lack of transparency and accountability.
Local wisdom
The Mekare-Kare (Pandan War) tradition is an annual rite that takes place every Fifth Sasih in the traditional calendar of the Tenganan Pegringsingan traditional village in Bali (or in June-July in the Gregorian calendar). In this pandan war tradition, music in the form of bale ganjur gamelan accompaniment typical of Tenganan Pegringsingan village is present as a spiritual determinant.
Whether or not there are tourists, both domestic and foreign, present, the mekare-kare tradition is consistently held because this is the local wisdom of the Tenganan indigenous people, which has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
Gamelan bale ganjur itself is a musical instrument that is considered sacred. Usually, outside of the mekare-kare ceremony, the bale ganjur gamelan instruments are kept in a place called Banjar Pande. This gamelan set cannot be played—or even held—by just anyone. Only special musicians are allowed to care for and then play this gamelan during the pandan war ceremony.
The bale ganjur gamelan and the mekare-kare ceremony in Bali are just one example. Of course, there is still a lot of music and other local wisdom in various regions throughout the archipelago, which has special sacred value for the people who own it. It is feared that artificial intelligence and the biases and prejudices in its generative AI methods will eliminate this local wisdom because AI only thinks with the logic that is injected into it and does not have a “feeling” or emotion about the existence of local wisdom.
Apart from that, another problem is that the humans—or groups of humans—who organize, train and analyze data do not have sensitivity to local culture and traditions. Most of them are people with technical backgrounds and have different values, so they do not understand local policies and wisdom and are ignorant of cultural perspectives.
Here, the role of the government or policymakers is very vital. They must create strategies so that music or local wisdom is not eroded or damaged due to AI bias and prejudice.
Cultural Advancement Law
Policymakers actually already have tools to protect and develop local wisdom, namely Law Number 5 of 2017 concerning the Advancement of Culture. The Law on the Advancement of Culture recognizes and respects Indonesia’s cultural diversity, places society as the owner and driver of culture, and places culture as the direction of national development.
The Law on the Advancement of Culture outlines four strategic steps in advancing culture: protection, development, utilization and guidance.
These four strategic steps become a legal umbrella for policymakers in responding to the disruption caused by artificial intelligence. Instead of killing local wisdom, AI should be used to protect, develop, utilize and foster the existence of our culture and traditions.
An example is how AI can be used to generate (create) a musical work using Indonesian instruments. AI plays a role in composing the music structure. However, the local wisdom contained in it must not be forgotten, abandoned or eliminated.
The presence of AI is not a threat. In fact, AI will become a very important tool in preserving and developing local culture and wisdom typical of the archipelago.
By looking at and reviewing our cultural traditions, there is the potential to address AI disruption based on Indonesian ethics. Indonesian people must be introspective and aware of this culture. So, we can respond to technological disruption within certain limits according to existing traditional norms.
Note: This article is a collaboration between Aris Setyawan (Ethnomusicologist and musician) and Iman Fattah (Music Committee, Jakarta Arts Council).
Previously featured in Indonesian on Pophariini.
Aris Setyawan 