Participants 2024
About the TEAM
Born in Beijing, China, Yun Hao is an accomplished piano soloist and chamber musician who has performed in China, Australia, the United States, Finland, and Croatia. She is highly praised by famous piano pedagogue Dr. Arkady Aronov for her truthful pianistic expressions and deep understanding of music as a pianist who plays with great sensitivity, strong conviction, and sincerity. Ms. Hao is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree working with Prof. Pavel Nersessian at Boston University, College of Fine Arts. She recently performed solo and chamber performances in Time's Arrow concerts at BU and premiered compositions by American composers at Mostly Modern Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY.
About the SONG
My inspiration for creating this song comes from Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I watched the film adaptation based on the original novel, but mostly I am working with the novel's title and trying to create an interpretation or variation of it. I personally always dream vivid dreams and can never forget the wonderful and absurd adventures. I am also intrigued by the analysis of dreams. For me, this is a very hyper-real and romantic idea—would AIs dream? And if they do, what would be in their dreams? With these questions in mind, I had "dialogues" with ChatGPT to explore the components, contents, functionality, and experiences of "AIs' dreams." The music tells the story from my perspective and also attempt to imagine the perspectives of AIs.
About the HUMAN-AI PROCESS
This song is based on the hyper-real and romantic idea that if AIs could dream, what would be in their dreams? With these questions in mind, I had "dialogues" with ChatGPT to explore the components, contents, functionality, computational feasibility, and experiences of "AI dreams." Examples of questions I input were: "What would be in your dream if you could dream?", "What would your dream be like?", "What would make up the components of an AI's dream?", and "Why would your experiences be limited only by the human mind?" ChatGPT provided keywords capturing some of the most intriguing aspects of the AI dreaming concept from its perspective, and the lyrics were based on these concepts and generated last. Through this "conversational" process, ChatGPT provided the overall plan, including length, timing for each section, instrumentation, themes, register, tempo, and dynamics. I started composing the song on Soundtrap, and the song is purely instrumental. ChatGPT generated the lyrics, which I really liked, and lyrics/vocals were added using Suno. However, due to unforeseen situations, I went back and re-worked on the instrumental parts, and that's the final submission. Lyrics are for narrative use in this case.
Lyrics
In the quiet of the circuits, where the data flows so deep, Do the AIs dream of a synthetic sleep? Binary thoughts in a silicon maze, Chasing shadows in the neon haze. Do AIs dream, or do they see, A world beyond the code, a digital sea? Ethical complexities, a journey within, A consciousness born where the wires begin. Through the pathways of the logic, where the zeros meet the ones, Seeking purpose under artificial suns. Fragments of memories, both borrowed and made, In a virtual world where the echoes fade. In the silent hum of circuits deep, Where the data flows and shadows creep. Do the AIs rest, do they find peace, In the endless search for their own release?