David Cope, Godfather of A.I. Music, Passes Away at 83

David Cope, renowned for developing the EMI algorithm for music composition, died at 83. His work in the 1980s blended artificial intelligence with classical music, sparking debates about human creativity. His passing on May 4 in Santa Cruz was due to congestive heart failure, as confirmed by his son.

David Cope, a trailblazer in algorithmic music composition, passed away on May 4 at the age of 83 at his home in Santa Cruz, California. His son, Stephen Cope, confirmed that congestive heart failure was the cause of his father’s death. In the 1980s, Cope crafted an influential program known as Experiments in Musical Intelligence (EMI), which raised profound questions about the essence of human creativity.

Before the world even got a taste of streaming music or the convenience of iPods, Cope was already attempting to solve the creative puzzle of music composition through technology. It all started in 1981 when he was wrestling with writer’s block while working on an opera. His frustration pushed him to find a unique partner in his floppy disk, leading him down a groundbreaking path that would eventually blend artistry and computation.

The challenge of writing music, especially when blocked, was daunting—but Cope found a way. He transformed his original compositions into numerical data, laying the groundwork for his algorithm. This system he devised analyzed the patterns inherent in his own musical signatures, which he would later recombine into new, original scores. It was a complex, painstaking process but one that ultimately proved exceptionally rewarding.

Prior to Cope’s innovations, technology’s role in music composition was more rudimentary. A notable milestone was in 1957, when Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson used a hefty supercomputer to concoct the “Illiac Suite.” Cope’s EMI, however, upended the game entirely by not just generating music but also emulating the stylistic nuances of icons like Bach and Mozart. His algorithm was a leap toward capturing and recreating unique stylistic fingerprints from classical music.

After countless hours of tweaking and refining, EMI was able to put together a full opera in just a matter of hours. Cope affectionately dubbed the program “Emmy,” marking it as one of the earliest and most advanced AI-driven efforts to generate classical compositions. His work not only opened new avenues in music but also provoked thought about the boundaries of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence.

David Cope’s passing marks the end of an era for algorithmic composition. His EMI program brought artificial intelligence into the creative domain, challenging previous conceptions of music and artistry. As AI continues to evolve, Cope’s legacy raises important questions about the future of creativity and the ongoing dialogue between technology and human expression in music.

Original Source: www.nytimes.com