By Peter Janis
INPUT
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ,
ROBOTS & CREATIVITY
Recently while watching the
Vienna Open tennis championship , I felt that something was amiss . Something just did not sit right . The first thing I noticed was that ball boys looked like they had tennis rackets in-hand . After careful review , it turned out they had something that actually resembled a fishing net . Instead of six ball boys , they culled them down to three . Greater efficiency . The court seemed clean … very clean . I then realised that there were no line judges . The Association of Tennis Professionals decided to eliminate those tasks to instead have a computer make the calls . They had been using computers for years to check for the occasional bad call , now the computer simply did all of the work . Being an audio person , it did not take long for me to get tired of hearing the same voice say “ out .” It would be good if they had two or three intonations and maybe a random mix of male and female robot judges !
In recent months , there has been much controversy regarding artificial intelligence ( AI ), robotics , and how these will replace jobs . Robots may have replaced the line judges , but they will not replace the tennis players . Not for some time anyway . Remember the chess games between a human and computer ?
AI is a huge database that compares what is happening in real-time with past history as a means to interpret the next best move , ergo chess . The computer is able to look at all the patterns from years of play , and possible moves . Today ’ s processing speeds enable AI to make decisions that almost approach the human brain .
Autonomous vehicles have been in use for some time , but they are generally relegated to trucking ore from a mine to a loading dock , where in between there is nothing but muskeg . More recently , the technology has proven to be effective on highways where the conditions and speeds are somewhat predictable . This changes in cities where unpredictable situations , such as people jaywalking and stray dogs running after cars , can introduce unknowns to the AI database . AI can predict the outcome of a woman crossing the street with a stroller , but it gets confused when a German shepherd is pulling a wagon . Robots need AI to make decisions . Like autonomous driving vehicles , they are extremely well suited for repetitive tasks . The metal shops we used at Radial had robots that would load the raw steel into laser cutters , pull the sheets out , and then bend them . They ran 24 / 7 with a low labour component . This process enabled us to produce metal boxes in Canada instead of going offshore .
One has to wonder whether these new technologies will have any effect in the world of professional audio . When I think about it , it ’ s the close interaction between musicians and audio engineers that enables shows to happen . Can AI assist a front-of-house engineer to EQ or set levels in a room ? Certainly . But AI cannot predict a song change or jam session or , god forbid , an artist that is out of sorts because the promoter delivered the wrong brand of champagne ! In fact , it is both the unpredictability of a concert and vibe between players that often makes it memorable .
Back in the 1980s when I was with Fender , I recall buying a block of 50 tickets for a Rolling Stones concert so that our staff could all sit together and enjoy the show . I left after four songs . What I saw on stage was a bunch of robots with no vibe . It was absolute crap . After reading Keith Richard ’ s autobiography , it all became clear : This was their first concert together after many years of distancing and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were still not on speaking terms . They were forced to be on stage together and it sounded like it . Years later , I would see the Stones again and enjoyed what was one of the best concerts ever . They had reconciled .
Pearl Jam have a dedicated channel on XM Radio that enables super fans to hear concerts from around the globe . Because their shows have a major jamming component , every show is different . The differences make things interesting . As they say : play a wrong note once and it ’ s a mistake , but play the same wrong note four times and it becomes jazz .
This column is the property of Peter Janis and authorized to be published and republished by NWC .
Formerly the president and CEO of Radial Engineering Ltd ., Peter Janis has been in the Canadian music industry for over 40 years , working in retail , distribution , and manufacturing . Peter now offers consulting services with his firm Exit-Plan , where he assists business owners in increasing their sales and enhancing the attractiveness of their business in preparation for retirement . For more information , visit www . exit-plan . ca .
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