Standards in the Spotlight: AI Orchestrates a New Era of Music and Standards Fine-Tune the Score

A man creates music with an electronic keyboard and computer.

Standards in the Spotlight: AI Orchestrates a New Era of Music, and Standards Fine-Tune the Score

9/11/2020

Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), some of us are dancing to a different type of beat these days. AI influences the way artists produce songs and concerts, and it can even customize music based on our moods. The intersection of humans and AI has led to a new era of music, and the standards behind the scenes support the latest soundtrack of our lives.

An AI Conductor for Symphonies

In 2019, Armenia was the first country to host an AI concert. The World Congress on Information Technologies Orchestra, made up of at least 100 symphony musicians representing 15 countries, played classical music composed in real-time by AI technology. The concert was unique in the way that AI helped to produce tunes drawn from the "musical DNA" of the countries represented.

Whether we're listening to AI-composed music or dancing to the melodies of our favorite musicians, standards support the complete concert experience.

One example is the standard IEC 60268-21 Ed. 1.0 en:2018, Sound System Equipment – Part 21: Acoustical (Output-based) Measurements, which offers guidelines for electro-acoustical transducers and passive and active sound systems, including personal and professional equipment to play music at a party or gathering. The standard was developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) TC 100, Audio, video, and multimedia systems and equipment.

AI: The New Musician Talent Scout?

In recent years, AI has had an increasingly important role in unearthing new artists. As the music industry turns to machine learning, AI can sift through up-and-coming musical talent looking for a label, and lend a helping hand in A&R (artist and repertoire) discovery.

Contemporary music artists depend on computers— and sometimes AI —to record and edit their tracks before they go viral.

INCITS/ISO/IEC 29136:2012 (R2017), Information Technology - User Interfaces - Accessibility of Personal Computer Hardware, provides requirements and recommendations for the accessibility of personal computer hardware, to be used when planning, developing, designing and distributing these computers. The standard was adopted by INCITS (InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards) and approved as an American National Standard (ANS). ANSI/ASA S1.1-2013 (R2020), Acoustical Terminology, is an ANS that provides definitions for terms used in acoustics and electroacoustics. It was published by the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which provides the Secretariat for Accredited Standards Committees S1 on Acoustics, S2 on Mechanical Vibration and Shock, S3 on Bioacoustics, S3/SC 1on Animal Bioacoustics, and S12 on Noise.

Other standards help prevent artists (and others) from being victims of stolen information through cyber attacks. While there are many standards that cover cybersecurity, two examples include ASTM F3286-17, Standard Guide for Cybersecurity and Cyberattack Mitigation, developed by ASTM International and Underwriters Laboratories' UL 2900-1 Ed. 1-2017, Standard For Software Cybersecurity For Network-Connectable Products, Part 1: General Requirements.

AI Can Tune into Your Music Mood

Is your musical mood of the moment more R&B or jazz, or a little bit of everything? Machine learning now has the power to create personalized musical playlists, adjusting to our changing moods.

As the promise of AI's impact on the music industry continues to grow, ANSI recognizes the expanding standardization work in AI. ANSI members and other international standards developers have lent their time and dedication to a number of guidelines that support AI’s development and use. These standards include SAE CRB 1-2016, Managing the Development of Artificial Intelligence Software (Stabilized: May 2016), developed by SAE International, and IEEE 1232.3, IEEE Guide for the Use of Artificial Intelligence Exchange and Service Tie to All Test Environments (AI-ESTATE), developed by IEEE.