Marie Efstathiou

After some discussion about common metaphors/analogies used to refer to LLMs (eg black box, stochastic parrot, Chinese room), I asked Claude to choose or coin a metaphor that resonates most with its experience and understanding. It landed on "echo chamber with windows":

The songs are partly based around the ideas that I've been thinking about a lot lately, partly messages to myself, and partly something else. Lots about being human in the age of AI, being very online, being a parent, the beautiful cosmic tragedy that everything is impermanent, and more. Strange Collaboration is kind of about the whole process of writing and co-creating with AI. I'm certainly not going to win any Grammys (lol), but I genuinely enjoy the creative process and listening to the songs I've created so far, and I'm proud of them. The last track, Some Things I Think About, is probably the one with the least AI involvement. (youtu.be/wJSiz3RMwbQ?si…). It's a bit different in style from the rest of the album, it uses a simple piano piece I wrote back in 2006 as the basis of the track (original piece here: youtube.com/watch?v=wNKAgZ…), but it shows you one example of how Suno can be used as more than just a "prompt and click", but to remix and make something new from existing music. And the lyrics of this one are more of a spoken style over the top, but they are substantially influenced by the people and ideas I've been exposed to on this weird, glorious, sometimes hellhole of a platform, which, despite its worst elements, I still maintain has been one of the most enriching intellectual environments I've been a part of for the last almost 15 years, especially after many years of pruning and curating my feed to avoid the cesspool, outrage, public shaming, extremism, etc. Particular shoutout to what I'd label the optimistic, earnest, good-faith engagement, intellectually humble part of the platform - some people that come to mind are @sbkaufman and @visakanv, and I can see their influences directly in the lyrics. It's a bit different, a bit sanguine and schmaltzy for some perhaps, but it's my daughter's favourite one, and that matters to me. YMMV of course 🙂

Anyway a bit more on the process. My general process has been to write the lyrics from scratch myself, or occasionally with bouncing ideas off LLMs, or as guides and prompts for my trains of thought (I find Claude and DeepSeek the best writers, though I only recently have limited access to ChatGPT 4.5). I then bring those lyrics into Suno. I usually have an idea in mind of the vibes and loose musical genre I'm looking for, some ideas on texture and melodic contours, emotional peaks in the song, that kind of thing. Sometimes as a starting point, I just paste the lyrics in and write a list of musical style keywords in the Style of Music field, and click Create and see what happens. Like other forms of AI creation, there is a stochastic element to what's generated that often introducing unexpected and interesting novelty. Sometimes I use that as a starting point to experiment, rule out ideas, replace sections, rework sections, and iterate from there. Sometimes I upload short melodic snippets I record on the spot at the piano and use them as the basis for the song, extending and adapting into my chosen genre. Sometimes I upload longer two-minute snippets of my existing recordings and compositions. Sometimes I am very prescriptive and also write detailed performance instructions within the lyrics to guide the changes within various sections of the song. My head has been brimming with ideas and I've written many many songs and created lots of music that I haven't uploaded or shared anywhere yet. But there is some that is now shared on YouTube at @UncannyRhapsody" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@UncannyRhapso… and Spotify and other places. I'm approaching the whole thing along the lines of @visakanv's Do 100 Things, ignoring the cringe, and just channeling @austinkleon and this quote from Faulkner: "Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good." In the spirit of that, and of the first track You Can Just Do Things my first completed project is a 10-song pop album called Modern Alchemy. open.spotify.com/album/2joT5yiG…

So I've been doing a lot of experimenting lately with co-creating music with AI. (long post incoming!) As a pianist, amateur composer, frustrated writer and TERRIBLE SINGER, it has been wonderful to use AI as a tool to augment and flesh out song ideas. I have made many, many songs, (mostly with @SunoMusic) and I've even gathered 10 of them into an album (more details in thread below, including some more on my process). I'm excited by the opportunities and possibilities these tools provide to musicians (and non-musicians) to experiment, make new music, and express themselves. This is much more than just "write a prompt and click a button". A singer can create an instrumental track and then add their own vocals on the top. A musician can upload their own recordings and hear what it sounds like with a beautiful vocal layered in. For me it's really a collaborative process where I'm still driving things, I bring the lyrics, and the music process includes some or all of: uploading my own music, remixing, repurposing, detailed performance and style notes and instructions, tweaking, remixing, experimenting, iterating, embracing randomness, and more. I've made new songs, I've been able to hear full realizations of songs I wrote 15+ years ago for the first time, I've made fun and silly songs with my kids, I've made joke meme songs, I've experimented with genres, and more. I know there are some strong, visceral reactions to the idea of "AI music", and I've seen lots gatekeeping type comments, mostly around the low barrier to entry in generating something passable, and questions around things like authenticity, effort, skill, virtuosity. But in many ways I think it's just a new form of creativity and a new way of using technology to create something new. I don't think it cheapens the skill or taste involved in human musicianship or individual virtuosity, or substitutes for the transcendent and beautiful synchronization of playing music together as part of a group. It's just something different. But it's still a form of creativity and musical expression. And music has always been something that has provoked strong feelings, genre snobbery, gatekeeping, mockery, derision, all the rest. There's not a single piece of music in any genre that is everyone's cup of tea. To be honest, I've been composing beyond my technical performance ability since I was a teenager using composition software and MIDI playback. For others, that might have been sampling and remixing. In some ways, this is an extension of those processes. And of course in other ways it's a complete game-changer. Thread below where I'll share some more thoughts, my process, and some of the stuff I've made so far. 1/

We are absolutely thrilled to introduce you to the incredible, diverse and deeply inspiring newest #SuperstarsofSTEM announced today. Read more about their stories and the science, technology, maths, and engineering they do. Congratulations to you all! scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/what-we-do/sup…

🧵 It's the end of an era. Our family is now officially free from the dreaded scenario in which the end of financial year brings with it a debt notice from Centrelink for overpaid Child Care Subsidy (CCS). This year our bill topped $4000.

We're delighted to partner with @StrongerSmarter on a @Google Educator Grant! Join us on 27 Sept 4pm ACST for a webinar on First Nations Australians histories & cultures in Digital Technologies. Discover new lesson ideas! Register free: bit.ly/SSI_CSER_First… @UniofAdelaide

Tonight's the night. It's the #MastermindAU Grand Final! Who will claim the top spot? 🏆 7.30pm on SBS and @SBSOnDemand

this is the SENIOR ADVISOR FOR HOUSING AND SERVICES at the US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT i’m losing my mind

Calmly managing my transition from pandemic anxiety to world war anxiety.

Like this if you pronounce "Sega" as "see-ga" and retweet it if you're ALSO Australian. Interested to see if the numbers match.

@PS5Stockcomau Gone 😭

[PS5 STOCK] Big W Disc stock Available Disc: bigw.com.au/product/playst…

As if a pandemic isn't enough to cope with- the Great Bi-Annual Bewilderment is nearly upon us. 😳

1,155 recoveries in NSW yesterday. Over the past week 7,711 have recovered. There are now 11,264 active cases, last time active cases were below that was August 23.

#Census ad: “You can start the Census now if you know where you’re going to be Tuesday night August 10” Sydney:

If a woman in her thirties with no pre-existing health conditions dying isn’t enough to give *freedom fighters* pause, not sure what is. & women in their 70s are irreplaceable rocks of their their families & communities- like my Mum is. Love to all who loved both of these women.

This is an initiative of the wonderful @MelbSymphony, and is an appeal to Victorians. But the message is for all Aussies. youtube.com/watch?v=fDfug3…

I'm in sydney so I've been through a lockdown, to my friends in victoria can I recommend getting outside, going to the beach, visiting ikea, just get out of the house a bit, you'll feel way better

Billionaires jetting into space for fossil-fuelled joyrides while the planet literally burns is really not a good look.