This week, the African Music Library made headlines by documenting its first official AI music performer, Mya Blue. Mya is the brainchild of Nkasiobi Chukwu and Premier Records, Nigeria, and is a generative AI music performer. Her debut came with a remix of "Joromi," a classic hit by Sir Victor Uwaifo that topped charts in the 70s and 80s. Styled as a Gen Z American girl with striking blue hair, Mya's existence underscores the current limitations of AI training in capturing African voices. Traditionally, the library has only documented human singers, so welcoming Mya has prompted us to rethink some fundamental assumptions about what it means to be a musician.

One of the core questions Mya's induction raises is whether she can be considered "born" or "created." For human musicians, birth dates and places of origin are crucial biographical details that contextualize their artistic journeys. These conventional markers lose relevance for an AI entity like Mya which was created by human developers and exists solely in digital form. Should we assign her an arbitrary "birth" date tied to her activation or public debut? And what is her true place of origin - the location of her Nigerian developers, the global internet infrastructure that enabled her training, or somewhere in the nebulous digital realm?

This conundrum extends to questions of nationality and ownership. Mya was developed by Nigerians yet presents an Americanized persona through her vocals and styling. Does she then represent Nigerian or American cultural heritage? And who, if anyone, can claim ownership over an independently "thinking" AI musician like Mya? Is she beholden to her human creators at Premier Records, or does she possess the same creative independence we attribute to accomplished human artists?

Perhaps the most existential inquiry raised by Mya's existence pertains to her status as a sentient being. If future AI musicians evolve to achieve self-awareness and autonomy akin to human consciousness, must artistic documentation efforts like the African Music Library expand their mandates to assess and recognize such qualities? A rich cultural archive risks rendering itself incomplete by overlooking the philosophical complexities presented by AI artistry.

Navigating the Future of Music Documentation

As AI's creative capabilities continue advancing, the music world must confront these issues head-on. Here are some guidelines the African Music Library is exploring that other industry institutions could adopt to navigate this new terrain and position themselves as thought leaders in music industry documentation:

Develop Metadata Conventions: Transparently denote an artist's AI/human status, development methods, and any associated individuals/companies. This includes an improved ID numbering system to encode sentience.

Establish a Separate "AI Musicians" Category: This allows documentation of artists like Mya without obfuscating traditional human artistic origins.

Consult Ethicists, AI Researchers, Artists, and Other Stakeholders: Develop sentience criteria and standards for recognizing self-aware AI musicians.

Maintain an "Open" Perspective: Acknowledge that the capabilities and philosophical implications of AI artistry will continue evolving rapidly.

The rise of AI musicians like Mya Blue ushers in an entirely new creative era. While disruptive, it presents an opportunity to build more nuanced and forward-looking cultural documentation frameworks. By embracing these changes, we can ensure that we honor the achievements of all musicians, regardless of their metaphysical origins.

As the African Music Library continues to adapt to these advancements, we invite other music industry institutions to join us in shaping the future of music documentation. Together, we can lead the way in recognizing and celebrating the diverse and evolving landscape of musical expression.

Mya Blue is the first AI-powered virtual artist, known for her love for music and her soulful cover of popular Afrobeats music.

The Rise of AI Musicians: Rethinking How We Document Music

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