Berklee Students Revolt Over AI Songwriting Class

Berklee College of Music has found itself in an off-key fight over artificial intelligence. Futurism reports 425 students and alumni have signed an online petition demanding the prestigious Boston school scrap the elective course, "Bots and Beats: AI and the Future of Songwriting," and stop promoting the use of generative AI altogether. Organizers say the school is effectively endorsing models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, which they accuse of exploiting the work of "tens of thousands" of artists and having "devastating consequences on the environment all to create facsimiles of real human art."

Comments on the petition describe frustration that a college known for nurturing working musicians is embracing tech seen by some as a threat to their future income and craft. "Do better, Berklee," one 2018 alum wrote, "You represent so many of us and so many great artist's futures, don't ruin it by damaging the craft." Another comment reads, "Come on, guys. At best this is irrational, uninformed FOMO, at worst it's a deliberate attempt to profit off buzz at the expense of the most vulnerable in your community."

Berklee, in a statement to the Boston Globe, defended the class, saying that as an "artist-first institution" it has a duty "to prepare our students to navigate technologies impacting the creative industries. We will continue to do so, in keeping with our guiding principles."