First hour: Exploring the risks and rewards of AI in the music industry
Second hour: Special rebroadcast — Longtime local and USA Basketball coach Scott Fitch on the influence of money in youth sports
One month ago, country music singer Randy Travis released a new studio album. Travis has been absent from the music scene since 2013, when a life-threatening stroke left him almost unable to speak or sing. Despite the physical progress he’s made, Travis’ new album was largely possible thanks to a surrogate singer and artificial intelligence. But you don’t have to be a well-known artist to use AI to create music; the technology can now generate full songs with just a few text prompts from a user. Some artists are also using it to remake songs. What does that mean for the industry? Can AI convey the complexity of human emotion? Should it? This hour, we explore the risks and rewards of AI in music. Our guests discuss how the technology is changing the landscape, what it could mean for who creates and owns content, and if – years from now – we’ll need to specify between the AI version of a popular song or the original. Our guests:
- T.J. Borrelli, musician, and principal lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at RIT, whose classes focus on cryptography, computer science theory, and artificial intelligence
- Amanda Chow, M.D., singer-songwriter
- Eryk Salvaggio, artist, writer, research fellow for the Flickr Foundation, emerging technology research advisor for the Siegel Family Endowment, and lecturer in responsible AI for the Elisava Barcelona School of Engineering and Design
Then in our second hour, we bring you a special rebroadcast. Longtime local basketball coach Scott Fitch’s story is one for the books. In additional to coaching at Fairport High School and being named National Player of the Year when he played at SUNY Geneseo, Fitch is a coach for USA Basketball. Dozens of his former players have made their way to the NBA. Throughout his career, Fitch has earned countless admirers for his ability to improve an athlete’s play, while also being able to focus on what makes them a better person. Fitch has seen the expanding influence of private travel sports programs that many families can’t afford. This hour, he joins us to discuss the pressure on young athletes and families, the money in youth sports, and what makes a great coach. Our guest:
- Scott Fitch, longtime basketball coach for Fairport High School and USA Basketball
