Though I deeply wish for it to not be the case, unfortunately the reality you and I find ourselves in is one where AI is being forced into every single crevice the worst corporations you know can fit it in to. It hasn’t completely dominated any of the arts just yet, but its usage is becoming more and more common. If you’re one such developer considering doing so, voluntarily, I would normally offer you some potentially unkind words, but instead I’ll point you towards the one and only Nobuo Uematsu, whose stance on AI is one I’m quite fond of.
The iconic Final Fantasy composer recently spoke to JARSAC Magazine (via Automaton), talking about his time in the games industry, and notably how he feels about AI. “I’ve never used AI and probably never will,” Uematsu explained. “I think it still feels more rewarding to go through the hardships of creating something myself. When you listen to music, the fun is also in discovering the background of the person who created it, right? AI does not have that kind of background though.
“Even when it comes to live performances, music produced by people is unstable, and everyone does it in their own unique way. And what makes it sound so satisfying are precisely those fluctuations and imperfections.”
This, my friends, is the only reasonable response to AI. There really is an inherent value in the process of making something, it lets you discover something unexpected in the thing you’re making that putting in a short prompt could never let you experience. Have a bad time making things once in a while! This is Uematsu we’re talking about here, he knows a thing or two about this art thing.
It’s also worth noting that the composer announced last year that he likely won’t be producing a full video game score again, even if he does plan to keep making music in general (including writing the Final Fantasy games’ main themes). I bring this up as he specifically mentioned not having the physical or mental strength to do so anymore. Accessibility is often touted as a reason why AI is good, but even here Uematsu shows that it’s still possible to make things even when there are limitations to what and how much you can produce.
