#4 – Task 7: Mode Bending
Author: Jazz Chapman
Link: https://aisonggenerator.ai/share/Whats%20in%20my%20bag&id=417230
I chose to link to task 7 for a second time, as Jazz Chapman’s submission is experiential and outstanding in its connection to the course material. Jazz took the task of mode bending to a new level by using AI to create both an AI generated podcast and song about her items using Google’s NotebookLM and AI Song Generator.
As a technology coach who has been very focused on integrating AI into the classroom to improve student learning, this task immediately caught my attention. One of the key areas that many of my staff are currently struggling with, in regard to integrating AI into learning, is the use of AI in the creative process. Many of my staff have come to me with concerns about students using AI to help in the creative process, especially in subjects such as visual arts, design, and music. They have expressed that by using AI to help in the brainstorming phase of creation, students are losing out on developing their own creative thinking skills. They are also concerned about how much AI is doing for the students, and therefore how much of the final work is truly their own thinking being put onto display. In regard to AI integration in the creative process, many staff appear concerned that the final products are not authentic representations of what the artist or author wish to produce as they have been ‘tainted’ by the hands of AI.
Jazz’s task submission does a good job of exploring this dilemma. For me, the podcast, and the song she has produced, are fun and interesting ways to engage AI in the task. However, in my mind, they do not represent her thinking, or her experience, or her attachment to the items. It is a step removed, and thus feels less natural or connected to the author. I want to hear what Jazz thinks about her items, I want to hear about a song that she has produced by thinking about the meaning behind each item and the emotional connection she has to each of them. Not what an Ai can interpret based on an image or some prompts she has provided. This is not to slight Jazz’s submission in the slightest, it is simply an awakening of my own feelings and emotions to this experience. Jazz states, “while the song allows for a more emotional and experiential connection (Peña & James, p. 1612)”, I disagree with this statement, as it feels like the song is disconnected from reality. I would describe it as a fun experiment, and perhaps the start of a creative process in which Jazz uses parts of this song to inspire her own, or perhaps writes several AI generated versions and splices them together. In both these processes there is a human element involved in the creative process that to me, is important, and is required to develop the emotional connection.
To further test my theory, I produced my own song of the items in my bag using the same tool that Jazz did to see the outcome and if my thinking would change when doing it for my own items. The song can be listened to by clicking on the record on this page.
The song is fun, catchy, and interesting to experience. To see how AI can take my items and create a decently creative song based on the items in my bag is a unique experience. However, several of the lines the song created are completely innaccurate for example, “Sunglasses on my face, hiding thoughts I won’t share”. This is not how I connect with my sunglasses and definitely not something I use them for. As a confident individual, I do not feel the need to hide behind my glasses and I do not connect to them in this way. The algorithm has done a great job of creating a catchy tune by breaking down the mathematical concepts of music and connecting them to lyrics based on the prompt provided, however the emotional connection that music is so known for is missing. I also feel that I have no authority over this creation to call it a representation of my “own creativity”, linking back to the scenario my staff have found themselves in.
Thanks to Jazz’s task and this activity, I will return to work with a new perspective and a deeper understanding of where my team is coming from. I look forward to seeing how our discussions shift based on this experience.
References:
Peña, E., & James, K. (2023). A framework of transmediation. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30(5), 1610–1624. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565231220325
Be First to Comment