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Vol.183 / AI Music and the Future of Composing
It’s a bit like when Sota Fujii plays shogi against a computer.
If humans and AI were to make music side by side, who would come out on top?
Strange as it may sound, this is something people now talk about quite seriously.
Back in 1980, when I first entered the music world, it was the early days of computer-based music.
Later it came to be called DTM (Desktop Music), and today it has become a big part of the music industry.
But in those days, no matter how well you programmed the sounds, it was still far from the feeling of live performance.
Most musicians saw it as just a kind of substitute.
As DTM grew, many players lost work.
But that was mostly about playing.
I believed that the deeper act of composing would not disappear.
I even felt that creating music was something only humans could truly do.
Now, the situation has completely changed.
I think many composers lose a lot of work to AI.
Just like in shogi, where humans can no longer win against computers, I believe that day will come for composing too.
Still, I’m sure music composition will continue.
Why? I have two reasons.
First, even in today’s world full of DTM, live performance has not vanished.
In fact, composing may become even clearer in meaning and easier for each person to keep doing.
Second, the desire to create is a deep human instinct.
＝ September 13, 2025 / MoTet ＝
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