The Reading / Listening - Spotify - Level 2

Artificial intelligence websites like ChatGPT are less than a year old, but they have got people asking many questions. One question is whether music produced by AI is real music. Daniel Ek, the boss of the streaming site Spotify, has answered this question. He said many uses of AI for making music are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has no plans to ban music created with AI. This includes the auto-tune software that helps singers correct their pitch and add vocal effects. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves music. Mr Ek did not like software for mimicking (copying) the voice of an artist.

Daniel Ek said AI in music will be debated for "many years". He said the biggest problem is copying the voice of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created by an AI platform. Software copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of copying singers' voices is. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading a song claiming to be Madonna." He said it will be difficult to know if a song is "sung" by a bot or a human. He said the future of music is going to be "tricky".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Spotify - Level 0 Spotify - Level 1   or  Spotify - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66882414
  • https://cybernews.com/news/spotify-will-not-ban-ai-created-content/
  • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spotify-not-ban-ai-made-233353784.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. websites like ChatGPT are
  2. they have got people
  3. music produced by AI
  4. The boss of the
  5. Spotify has answered
  6. Spotify has no plans
  7. software that helps singers
  8. software that copies the
  1. this question
  2. is real music
  3. correct their pitch
  4. asking questions
  5. to ban music
  6. voice of a singer
  7. less than a year old
  8. streaming site

Paragraph 2

  1. AI in music will
  2. the biggest problem is
  3. Spotify deleted a song created
  4. copied the voices of
  5. copying singers' voices
  6. anyone can upload
  7. if a song is sung by
  8. the future of music
  1. a bot or a human
  2. by an AI platform
  3. is a problem
  4. be debated
  5. will be tricky
  6. the singers
  7. copying singers
  8. a song

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Artificial intelligence websites like ChatGPT (1) _________________ a year old, but they have got (2) ___________________ questions. One question is whether music produced by AI                                (3) ___________________. Daniel Ek, the boss of the streaming site Spotify, has answered this question. He said many uses of AI for making music are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify                   (4) ___________________ to ban music created with AI. This includes the auto-tune software that helps singers                          (5) ___________________ and add vocal effects. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves music. Mr Ek did not like software for mimicking (copying) the (6) ___________________ artist.

Daniel Ek said AI in music will (7) ___________________ "many years". He said the biggest problem is (8) ___________________ of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created by an AI platform. Software copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd (9) ___________________ song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of copying singers' voices is. He said: "(10) ___________________ someone uploading a song claiming to be Madonna." He said it will be difficult to know if a song is "sung" by (11) ___________________ a human. He said the future of music is going (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

ArtificialintelligencewebsiteslikeChatGPTarelessthanayearold,butth
eyhavegotpeopleaskingmanyquestions.Onequestioniswhethermusi
cproducedbyAIisrealmusic.DanielEk,thebossofthestreamingsiteSpo
tify,hasansweredthisquestion.HesaidmanyusesofAIformakingmusi
careOK.HetoldtheBBCthatSpotifyhasnoplanstobanmusiccreatedwit
hAI.Thisincludestheauto-tunesoftwarethathelpssingerscorrecttheir
pitchandaddvocaleffects.MrEksaidautotunesimprovesmusic.MrEkdi
dnotlikesoftwareformimicking(copying)thevoiceofanartist.DanielEk
saidAIinmusicwillbedebatedfor"manyyears".Hesaidthebiggestprobl
emiscopyingthevoiceofothersingers.Spotifydeletedonesongcreated
byanAIplatform.SoftwarecopiedthevoicesofthesingersDrake,andth
eWeeknd.NeitherDrakenorTheWeekndknewaboutthesong.MrEkhig
hlightedhowserioustheproblemofcopyingsingers'voicesis.Hesaid:"Y
oucanimaginesomeoneuploadingasongclaimingtobeMadonna."Hes
aiditwillbedifficulttoknowifasongis"sung"byabotorahuman.Hesaidth
efutureofmusicisgoingtobe"tricky".

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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