Echoes, the artist-AI hybrid EP that experimental electronica artist Paul Feder teased with last month’s single “Paperclips” is now out as of July 23rd and its two other tracks, the title track and “Human Love”, will likely surprise listeners, as they’re quite different from said teaser.
Ever the genre-and-style-hopper, Feder had a concept for Echoes, but it was not meant to be reflected in the music. Where “Paperclips” is retro and robotic a’la Kraftwerk and a bit of a departure from the Brooklyn-based artist’s usual repertoire, “Human Love” and the title track are more dreamy and ambient. All of the track, however, were made with the help of AI, as were the videos for “Paperclips” and “Echoes”. This concept comes from Feder’s own interpretation of what many artists are currently grappling with: can AI really fit in with art in a way that’s cohesive and harmonious? And if so, how?
“Paperclips” really looks at that question with one of the many doomsday theories that have been projected since the advent of AI, philosopher Nick Bostrom’s Paperclip Theory.
“Paperclips” is based on AI thought experiment in which a sentient AI is given a simple task: maximize paperclip production. The end result is a Terminator-style future in which humanity is eradicated in the service of making A LOT of paperclips.
The song of the same name not only feels very robotic, but the desperation of this paperclip dystopia really comes through in the music, which, while a bop, has that very rigid, robotic feel to it. If Feder wasn’t forthcoming about the track being inspired by AI, it would likely be obvious. The video, which depicts the robots in a frantic assembly line of paperclip production, nails the point home. Or at least affixes it with a peperclip.
“Human Love” and “Echoes” also seem to be written from the perspective of AI creatures, with the former containing a sort of wistful tone as the machines attempt to come to grips with humanity. A house-pop dance tune with a cool future bass break, “Human Love” explores the likely consternation of an AI being of never being able to feel human love, In the world Feder’s created with Echoes, grasping that could be perhaps the only thing that could pull the machines away from their paperclip obsession.
“Human Love” merges into “Echoes”, a short, beatless, ambient track that, in contrast to the emotionless “Paperclips” and the somewhat confused “Human Love”, is all emotion and tone. Sinewaves and echoes match up with the swirling, celestial images in the all-AI video which seems to show all the brilliance of humanity and the universe, but it also has an unreal quality because it’s made by AI. Is this the machines finally understanding? Is The Matrix taking over? It’s anyone’s guess, and there’s nowhere to go now but forward.
I’ve watched the rapid advances in artificial intelligence with a mix of wonder and existential dread. In ‘Echoes’, I explores the anxiety I feel about being replaced by AI while using AI technology in the creative process. I navigated through this uneasy territory and ultimately embraced the collaborative potential of human and machine.