The Beatles Reinvent Music Again, This Time With AI

Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be.

- "Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be."

Those were the last words of one of the two 'last' songs The Beatles released in 1970 right after their break-up. Those words, if followed in letter and spirit, would not have helped them make history again—five decades after they officially disbanded.

As it turns out, 'Let it be' may not quite be their last number, much to the dismay of a generation of college quizzers. (The other post-breakup release was 'The long and winding road').

The 'Fab Four' from Liverpool have just won a Grammy after some technological manipulation that raises old questions on art and opens new frontiers of creativity. The use of artificial intelligence in music is something that makes yesterday's art look like today's menial work. The Beatles, with two of its members already departed, still speak to the world on how far creativity can go—when they get by with a little help from their technological friends.

Thanks to ever-changing technology, art is not what it used to be. You need to get used to the idea that you may have to rethink the very concept of art.

You can now 'order' a painting, not from an e-commerce app but from an AI app, and it will generate the image you want. I have seen one of Lord Murugan or Karthikeya, a favourite deity of Tamilians, in which he is portrayed as a little boy reclining in sleep on a tree with a baby peacock. It had AI written all over it, but seemed close to celebrated painter Raja Ravi Varma in its use of colour and sketching.