The Reading / Listening - Spotify - Level 3

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

Daniel Ek said using AI in music will be debated for "many, many years". He said the biggest problem is when AI copies the voice of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created by the AI platform Ghostwriter. The software copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even submitted for a Grammy music award, but it was rejected. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of cloning singers' voices is. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading a song, claiming to be Madonna, even if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if a song is "sung" by a bot or a human. He added that the future of music production is going to be "tricky".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Spotify - Level 0,  Spotify - Level 1   or  Spotify - Level 2

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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. AI MUSIC: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about AI music. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       artificial intelligence / websites / ChatGPT / music / streaming / auto-tunes / software
       debate / voice / singers / song / music award / uploading / bot / human / the future
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. REAL MUSIC: Students A strongly believe music should only come from singers and musicians, nit from technology; Students B strongly believe technology helps music. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. AI: How can AI help these things? Are there any dangers? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Help

Dangers

Studying English

 

 

Music

 

 

Transport

 

 

Hospitals

 

 

War

 

 

Cooking

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. INTELLIGENCE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "intelligence". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. MUSIC: Rank these with your partner. Put the best genres at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Pop
  • Rock
  • Country
  • Hip-hop
  • Jazz
  • Electro
  • Reggae
  • Classical

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. artificial a. A person who is in charge of a worker, group, or organization.
      2. produced b. Put right something that was wrong.
      3. boss c. Made or produced by human beings and not happening naturally, especially as a copy of something natural.
      4. streaming d. Made something using creative skills.
      5. ban e. A method of sending or getting data (video and music) over a computer network as a steady, continuous flow.
      6. correct f. Officially stop someone from doing something.
      7. improves g. Makes better.

    Paragraph 2

      8. debated h. Drew special attention to.
      9. deleted i. Argue about a subject.
      10. submitted j. Said no to something because it is unacceptable, or damaged.
      11. rejected k. Making an identical (exact) copy of.
      12. highlighted l. Remove / erased data from a computer's memory.
      13. cloning m. Difficult or problematic.
      14. tricky n. Gave something to a person or body for consideration or judgement.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. ChatGPT has been making music for many years.     T / F
  2. The boss of Spotify said AI-generated music is the best.     T / F
  3. Spotify's boss said auto-tune software helps to make music better.     T / F
  4. Spotify's boss disagrees with software that copies singers' voices.     T / F
  5. Spotify's boss said people won't talk about AI and music for too long.     T / F
  6. The singer Drake made a song with the AI platform Ghostwrite.     T / F
  7. Spotify's boss said it's OK to upload a song and pretend to be Madonna.  T / F
  8. Spotify's boss said the future of music will be tricky.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. such as
  2. produced
  3. ban
  4. helps
  5. artist
  6. debated
  7. deleted
  8. rejected
  9. serious
  10. tricky
  1. removed
  2. assists
  3. discussed
  4. created
  5. important
  6. like
  7. turned down
  8. difficult
  9. prohibit
  10. singer

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Artificial intelligence websites such
  2. the boss of the music streaming
  3. music created
  4. software that helps singers
  5. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves
  6. AI copies the
  7. The song was even submitted for a
  8. how serious the problem of cloning
  9. tell if a song is "sung"
  10. the future of music production is
  1. correct their pitch
  2. by a bot or a human
  3. music
  4. going to be tricky
  5. Grammy music award
  6. as ChatGPT
  7. singers' voices is
  8. by artificial intelligence
  9. voice of other singers
  10. site Spotify

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
software
whether
copying
less
effects
plans
improves
answered

Artificial intelligence websites such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are (1) _____________________ than a year old, but they have been asking many questions. One question is (2) _____________________ music and art produced by AI is real music and art. Daniel Ek, the boss of the music streaming site Spotify, has (3) _____________________ this question. He said there are many uses of AI for making music that are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has no (4) _____________________ to ban all music created by artificial intelligence. This includes the auto-tune (5) _____________________ that helps singers correct their pitch and can add vocal (6) _____________________ to a singer's voice. Mr Ek said auto-tunes (7) _____________________ music. One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software for mimicking ((8) _____________________) the voice of an artist.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
even
voices
debated
tricky
deleted
cloning
bot
award

Daniel Ek said using AI in music will be (9) _____________________ for "many, many years". He said the biggest problem is when AI copies the voice of other singers. Spotify (10) _____________________ one song created by the AI platform Ghostwriter. The software copied the (11) _____________________ of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even submitted for a Grammy music (12) _____________________, but it was rejected. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of (13) _____________________ singers' voices is. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading a song, claiming to be Madonna, (14) _____________________ if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if a song is "sung" by a (15) _____________________ or a human. He added that the future of music production is going to be "(16) _____________________".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Artificial intelligence websites such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are less than ______
     a.  the year old
     b.  a yearly age
     c.  a year old
     d.  a year age
2)  One question is whether music and art produced by AI is real ______
     a.  musical art
     b.  muse sicken art
     c.  muse sicken arts
     d.  music and art
3)  Spotify has no plans to ban all music created ______
     a.  by artificial intelligent
     b.  by artificial intelligences
     c.  by artificial intelligence
     d.  by artificial intelligence is
4)  auto-tune software that helps singers correct their pitch and can ______
     a.  and vocal effects
     b.  add vocal effects
     c.  add vocal effect
     d.  add vocal affects
5)  One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software for mimicking (copying) the voice ______
     a.  off an artist
     b.  of an artistry
     c.  of an art tryst
     d.  of an artist

6)  Spotify deleted one song created by ______
     a.  the AI platform
     b.  the AI plate form
     c.  the AI plait form
     d.  the AI plaid form
7)  The song was even submitted for a Grammy music award, but ______
     a.  it was injected
     b.  it was subjected
     c.  it was ejected
     d.  it was rejected
8)  the problem of ______
     a.  clowning singers' voices
     b.  crowing singers' voices
     c.  cloning singers' voices
     d.  clown in singers' voices
9)  He said it will be difficult to tell if a song is "sung" ______
     a.  by abbot
     b.  by a bot
     c.  buyer bot
     d.  buy a bot
10)  He added that the future of music production is going ______
     a.  tube tricky
     b.  to be ticklish
     c.  to be trickling
     d.  to be tricky

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Artificial intelligence websites such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are less than a year old, but they (1) ____________________ many questions. One question is whether music and art produced by AI is real music and art. Daniel Ek, the boss of the (2) ____________________ Spotify, has answered this question. He said there are many uses of AI (3) ____________________ that are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has no plans to ban all music created by artificial intelligence. This includes the (4) ___________________ that helps singers correct their pitch and can (5) ____________________ to a singer's voice. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves music. One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software for mimicking (copying) the                                  (6) ____________________ artist.

Daniel Ek said using AI in music will (7) ____________________ "many, many years". He said the biggest problem is when AI copies the voice of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created by the AI platform Ghostwriter. The software (8) ____________________ of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even submitted for a Grammy music award, but (9) ____________________. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of cloning singers' voices is. He said: "You can imagine (10) ____________________ song, claiming to be Madonna, even if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if a (11) ____________________ by a bot or a human. He added that the future of music production is going (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. How old is Google's Bard AI website?
  2. What is the role in Spotify of Daniel Ek?
  3. Which news agency did Daniel Ek talk to?
  4. What did Daniel Ek say auto-tunes does to music?
  5. What does Mr Ek not like?
  6. For how long will using AI in music be debated?
  7. What is Ghostwriter?
  8. What happened when an AI song was submitted for a Grammy award?
  9. What did Mr Ek say a song might be sung by besides a human?
  10. What did Daniel Ek say the future of music would be?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How old is Google's Bard AI website?
a) 18 months old
b) a year old
c) less than a year old
d) 13 months old
2) What is the role in Spotify of Daniel Ek?
a) the boss
b) the lead singer
c) a guitarist
d) the producer
3) Which news agency did Daniel Ek talk to?
a) CNN
b) the BBC
c) ABC
d) Al Jazeera
4) What did Daniel Ek say auto-tunes does to music?
a) ruins it
b) makes it faster
c) makes it boring
d) improves it
5) What does Mr Ek not like?
a) opera
b) artificial intelligence
c) copying singers' voices
d) CDs

6) For how long will using AI in music be debated?
a) a little while
b) for many, many years
c) a few months
d) until the cows come home
7) What is Ghostwriter?
a) a scary theme park
b) a horror movie
c) a haunted house
d) an AI platform
8) What happened when an AI song was submitted for a Grammy award?
a) It won.
b) It was rejected.
c) It came second.
d) It got to number one.
9) What did Mr Ek say a song might be sung by besides a human?
a) a dog
b) a bot
c) a television
d) a radio
10) What did Daniel Ek say the future of music would be?
a) tricky
b) long
c) exciting
d) musical

Role play

Role  A – Pop
You think pop is the best musical genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genres. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): hip-hop, jazz or classical.

Role  B – Hip-hop
You think hip-hop is the best musical genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genres. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): pop, jazz or classical.

Role  C – Jazz
You think jazz is the best musical genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genres. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): hip-hop, pop or classical.

Role  D – Classical
You think classical is the best musical genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genres. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): hip-hop, jazz or pop.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'music'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'ban'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • less
    • real
    • OK
    • helps
    • improves
    • mimicking
    • many
    • deleted
    • even
    • knew
    • difficult
    • 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 - Spotify

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'AI'?
    3. What are your favourite kinds of music?
    4. What do you think of music created by artificial intelligence?
    5. What do you think of ChatGPT and Bard?
    6. Is music made with AI real music?
    7. Should streaming sites ban music created with artificial intelligence?
    8. What do you think of singers using the auto-tune software?
    9. What do you think of AI copying the voice of other singers?
    10. Is the music of today or the music of the 60s, 70s and 80s best?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'music'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What will people say in the AI-music debate?
    5. Should AI-generated music be allowed to get music awards?
    6. What's best – vinyl, CDs or streaming?
    7. Would you like to be a singer?
    8. Is music getting better or worse?
    9. Why might the future of music be 'tricky'?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Mr Ek?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Artificial intelligence websites such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are (1) ____ than a year old, but they have been asking many questions. One question is (2) ____ music and art produced by AI is real music and art. Daniel Ek, the boss of the music (3) ____ site Spotify, has answered this question. He said there are many uses of AI for making music that are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has (4) ____ plans to ban all music created by artificial intelligence. This includes the auto-tune software that helps singers correct their pitch and can (5) ____ vocal effects to a singer's voice. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves music. One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software for mimicking (copying) the voice of an (6) ____.

    Daniel Ek said using AI in music will be (7) ____ for "many, many years". He said the biggest problem is when AI copies the voice of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created (8) ____ the AI platform Ghostwriter. The software copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even submitted for a Grammy music award, but it was (9) ____. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how serious the problem of cloning singers' voices (10) ____. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading a song, claiming to be Madonna, (11) ____ if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if a song is "sung" by a bot or a human. He added that the future of music production is going to be "(12) ____".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     fewer     (b)     less     (c)     few     (d)     smaller    
    2. (a)     weather     (b)     whether     (c)     wither     (d)     whither    
    3. (a)     simmering     (b)     storming     (c)     steaming     (d)     streaming    
    4. (a)     not     (b)     no     (c)     know     (d)     nor    
    5. (a)     and     (b)     more     (c)     plus     (d)     add    
    6. (a)     singer     (b)     musician     (c)     artist     (d)     arty    
    7. (a)     debated     (b)     debating     (c)     debates     (d)     debate    
    8. (a)     of     (b)     to     (c)     by     (d)     at    
    9. (a)     signed     (b)     evolved     (c)     defined     (d)     rejected    
    10. (a)     is     (b)     be     (c)     are     (d)     were    
    11. (a)     even     (b)     so     (c)     such     (d)     what    
    12. (a)     tricky     (b)     magic     (c)     problem     (d)     artificially

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. Artificial entecliingle
    2. music and art orcduped by AI
    3. the music mietsargn site Spotify
    4. add vocal efscfte
    5. auto-tunes vesiorpm music
    6. the evcio of an artist

    Paragraph 2

    1. edetadb for many, many years
    2. Spotify deletde one song
    3. submitted for a Grammy music wrdaa
    4. it was eeerctjd
    5. diogalnpu a song
    6. music production is going to be yrtcki

    Put the text back together

    (...)   uses of AI for making music that are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has no plans to ban all music created
    (...)   asking many questions. One question is whether music and art produced by AI is real music
    (...)   music. One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software for mimicking (copying) the voice of an artist.
    (...)   a song, claiming to be Madonna, even if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if a song is "sung"
    (...)   by a bot or a human. He added that the future of music production is going to be "tricky". 
    (...)   and art. Daniel Ek, the boss of the music streaming site Spotify, has answered this question. He said there are many
    (...)   serious the problem of cloning singers' voices is. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading
    (...)   award, but it was rejected. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how
    (...)   pitch and can add vocal effects to a singer's voice. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves
    (...)   is when AI copies the voice of other singers. Spotify deleted one song created by the AI platform Ghostwriter. The software
    (...)   by artificial intelligence. This includes the auto-tune software that helps singers correct their
    (...)   Daniel Ek said using AI in music will be debated for "many, many years". He said the biggest problem
    (...)   copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even submitted for a Grammy music
    (  1  )   Artificial intelligence websites such as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are less than a year old, but they have been

    Put the words in the right order

    1. real   .   produced   and   is   Music   art   AI   by
    2. Spotify   .   of   site   streaming   music   the   boss   The
    3. He   are   AI   .   many   there   of   said   uses
    4. their   Auto-tune   singers   helps   that   software   pitch   .   correct
    5. not   AI   Mr Ek   did   of   like   .   One   use
    6. years   .   for   Music   debated   will   many,   many   be
    7. biggest   is   copies   problem   when   AI   The   voices   .
    8. deleted   by   one   created   song   AI   .   Spotify
    9. the   the   Drake   voice   copied   singer   Software   of
    10. song   .   can   You   someone   a   uploading   imagine

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Artificial intelligence websites such / like as ChatGPT and Google's Bard are less than a year old, but they have been asks / asking many questions. One question is whether / weather music and art produced by / at AI is real music and art. Daniel Ek, the boss of the music steaming / streaming site Spotify, has answered this question. He said there are many uses of AI for making music that is / are OK. He told the BBC that Spotify has no plans to ban all / every music created by artificial intelligence. This includes the auto-tune software that helps singers correct their patch / pitch and can add vocal effects to a singer's voice. Mr Ek said auto-tunes improves / improving music. One use of AI Mr Ek did not like was software to / for mimicking (copying) the voice of an artist.

    Daniel Ek said using AI in music will be debating / debated for "many, many years". He said the biggest problem is what / when AI copies the voice of other / another singers. Spotify deleted one song created by the AI stage / platform Ghostwriter. The software copied the voices of the singers Drake, and The Weeknd. The song was even omitted / submitted for a Grammy music award, but it was rejected. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd knew about the song. Mr Ek highlighted how seriously / serious the problem of cloning singers' voices are / is. He said: "You can imagine someone uploading a song, calming / claiming to be Madonna, even if they're not." He said it will be difficult to tell if / what a song is "sung" by a bot or a human. He added that the future of music production is going to be "tricked" / "tricky".

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _rt_f_c__l  _nt_ll_g_nc_  w_bs_t_s  s_ch  _s  Ch_tGPT  _nd  G__gl_'s  B_rd  _r_  l_ss  th_n  _  y__r  _ld,  b_t  th_y  h_v_  b__n  _sk_ng  m_ny  q__st__ns.  _n_  q__st__n  _s  wh_th_r  m_s_c  _nd  _rt  pr_d_c_d  by  __  _s  r__l  m_s_c  _nd  _rt.  D_n__l  _k,  th_  b_ss  _f  th_  m_s_c  str__m_ng  s_t_  Sp_t_fy,  h_s  _nsw_r_d  th_s  q__st__n.  H_  s__d  th_r_  _r_  m_ny  _s_s  _f  __  f_r  m_k_ng  m_s_c  th_t  _r_  _K.  H_  t_ld  th_  BBC  th_t  Sp_t_fy  h_s  n_  pl_ns  t_  b_n  _ll  m_s_c  cr__t_d  by  _rt_f_c__l  _nt_ll_g_nc_.  Th_s  _ncl_d_s  th_  __t_-t_n_  s_ftw_r_  th_t  h_lps  s_ng_rs  c_rr_ct  th__r  p_tch  _nd  c_n  _dd  v_c_l  _ff_cts  t_  _  s_ng_r's  v__c_.  Mr  _k  s__d  __t_-t_n_s  _mpr_v_s  m_s_c.  _n_  _s_  _f  __  Mr  _k  d_d  n_t  l_k_  w_s  s_ftw_r_  f_r  m_m_ck_ng  (c_py_ng)  th_  v__c_  _f  _n  _rt_st.

    D_n__l  _k  s__d  _s_ng  __  _n  m_s_c  w_ll  b_  d_b_t_d  f_r  "m_ny,  m_ny  y__rs".  H_  s__d  th_  b_gg_st  pr_bl_m  _s  wh_n  __  c_p__s  th_  v__c_  _f  _th_r  s_ng_rs.  Sp_t_fy  d_l_t_d  _n_  s_ng  cr__t_d  by  th_  __  pl_tf_rm  Gh_stwr_t_r.  Th_  s_ftw_r_  c_p__d  th_  v__c_s  _f  th_  s_ng_rs  Dr_k_,  _nd  Th_  W__knd.  Th_  s_ng  w_s  _v_n  s_bm_tt_d  f_r  _  Gr_mmy  m_s_c  _w_rd,  b_t  _t  w_s  r_j_ct_d.  N__th_r  Dr_k_  n_r  Th_  W__knd  kn_w  _b__t  th_  s_ng.  Mr  _k  h_ghl_ght_d  h_w  s_r___s  th_  pr_bl_m  _f  cl_n_ng  s_ng_rs'  v__c_s  _s.  H_  s__d:  "Y__  c_n  _m_g_n_  s_m__n_  _pl__d_ng  _  s_ng,  cl__m_ng  t_  b_  M_d_nn_,  _v_n  _f  th_y'r_  n_t."  H_  s__d  _t  w_ll  b_  d_ff_c_lt  t_  t_ll  _f  _  s_ng  _s  "s_ng"  by  _  b_t  _r  _  h_m_n.  H_  _dd_d  th_t  th_  f_t_r_  _f  m_s_c  pr_d_ct__n  _s  g__ng  t_  b_  "tr_cky".

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    artificial intelligence websites such as chatgpt and googles bard are less than a year old but they have been asking many questions one question is whether music and art produced by ai is real music and art daniel ek the boss of the music streaming site spotify has answered this question he said there are many uses of ai for making music that are ok he told the bbc that spotify has no plans to ban all music created by artificial intelligence this includes the autotune software that helps singers correct their pitch and can add vocal effects to a singers voice mr ek said autotunes improves music one use of ai mr ek did not like was software for mimicking copying the voice of an artist

    daniel ek said using ai in music will be debated for many many years he said the biggest problem is when ai copies the voice of other singers spotify deleted one song created by the ai platform ghostwriter the software copied the voices of the singers drake and the weeknd the song was even submitted for a grammy music award but it was rejected neither drake nor the weeknd knew about the song mr ek highlighted how serious the problem of cloning singers voices is he said you can imagine someone uploading a song claiming to be madonna even if theyre not he said it will be difficult to tell if a song is sung by a bot or a human he added that the future of music production is going to be tricky

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    ArtificialintelligencewebsitessuchasChatGPTandGoogle'sBardareles
    sthanayearold,buttheyhavebeenaskingmanyquestions.Onequestio
    niswhethermusicandartproducedbyAIisrealmusicandart.DanielEk,t
    hebossofthemusicstreamingsiteSpotify,hasansweredthisquestion.
    HesaidtherearemanyusesofAIformakingmusicthatareOK.Hetoldthe
    BBCthatSpotifyhasnoplanstobanallmusiccreatedbyartificialintellige
    nce.Thisincludestheauto-tunesoftwarethathelpssingerscorrectthe
    irpitchandcanaddvocaleffectstoasinger'svoice.MrEksaidauto-tun
    esimprovesmusic.OneuseofAIMrEkdidnotlikewassoftwareformimic
    king(copying)thevoiceofanartist.DanielEksaidusingAIinmusicwillbe
    debatedfor"many,manyyears".HesaidthebiggestproblemiswhenAIc
    opiesthevoiceofothersingers.SpotifydeletedonesongcreatedbytheA
    IplatformGhostwriter.ThesoftwarecopiedthevoicesofthesingersDra
    ke,andTheWeeknd.ThesongwasevensubmittedforaGrammymusica
    ward,butitwasrejected.NeitherDrakenorTheWeekndknewaboutthes
    ong.MrEkhighlightedhowserioustheproblemofcloningsingers'voices
    is.Hesaid:"Youcanimaginesomeoneuploadingasong,claimingtobeM
    adonna,evenifthey'renot."Hesaiditwillbedifficulttotellifasongis"sun
    g"byabotorahuman.Headdedthatthefutureofmusicproductionisgoin
    gtobe"tricky".

    Free writing

    Write about music and A.I. for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    Academic writing

    AI should never be used to produce music or art. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. AI MUSIC: Make a poster about AI music. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. BAN: Write a magazine article about banning the use of AI to produce music. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on AI. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on using AI in music. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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