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This is just too sad. When we can pass off machine written music as something to listen to we have lost a great deal.

I don’t believe it will be of much significance, however, when AI learns to write film soundtracks then it’s time to worry because they are so intensly manipulative and purposefully liminal.

A somewhat related point: I’ve noticed that new horror films– like ‘IT’ and the recent ‘Annabelle’ franchise– seem to have gotten terror down to a cold technical science. It’s almost like horror by algorithm: the precise pacing of a moment, the correct set-up, playing on the right admixture of emotions, and then the delivery of a visceral gut-punch, (often accompanied by a loud bass-note boom that seems to draw the blood out of one’s veins.) It’s all too technically precise. There’s very little art in it; and that’s the truly terrifying thing. I’m not scared of the one-note darkness of the new villains in these films. (Notice how devoid of any personality they are?) There’s not even a whiff of Freddy Kruger’s wit, or the chilling impact of a young Damien’s cheeky smile. They’re just blank ciphers, almost like killing machines; and for that reason the new baddies are hopelessly boring, and are, ultimately, the least interesting thing about the new breed of horror. In that way, these new films (as films) aren’t half as scary as the originals. But the new breed of writers and producers who make them are far scarier than their predecessors: they appear to see their audience as nothing more than conditioned response mechanisms. And if box office receipts are any guide, they’re making a devastatingly strong case for it. Sitting in the darkness of the theatre recently–and watching the previews for new releases– I’ve never been more aware of the truth of Plato’s cave allegory in my life.