eactions to the introduction and use of artificial intelligence by various players in endevours historically covered by copyright and patent protections are starting to bite. Two of the biggest music recording companies have accused AI song generators, Suno and Udio, of using material for which they have documented copyright. The copyright question is just the beginning of a wholesale review of some of the definitions that have been widely accepted over the last few decades.

The terms originality and creativity, which have been bandied around for long, apparently need to be put under the hammer. These two expressions define what has been the preserve of humankind. Whatever may be termed as progress can be attributed to these strengths. However, it now appears that since the onset of the industrial revolution these have been used too loosely and too freely or mystified and pitched against the drudgery of scientific inventions especially during the industrial revolution.

As it is, music is too fluid an activity or a human endeavour to be easily pinned down and seen as new or contemporary. It is more like an effort to bring forth the fundamentals that have been found to be unchanging and to access/ measure the human endeavour against that in every age.

Some might say that the reality has not changed and that the archetypes have remained constant and that music has always tried to come up with new sonic formation to either address the same realities or to come to terms with those. So there is little area for maneuver around what can be labelled as new, groundbreaking or totally unheard of - hence ‘original.’

In our musical ethos the Europeans found too docile or static, as indeed other cultural forms and artistic expressions, creativity or good art was when the creative endeavours of the elders or the masters of yore were emulated. The emulation was of great significance because it was known to be matching up to something that had been done to near perfection in the past. The good art therefore was the recreation of something that had already taken place in the past.

Some musical texts claim that initially there were only six ragas. It is believed that the rest have been ‘created’ and the entire musical expression is the consequence of playing around various permutations of these six primal ragas or series of notes. The entire river of music flows from this source before splitting into various streams on course to reaching its destination.

When film song was introduced, it caught on, especially in the sub continent. It appropriated plenty of material as musical heritage. Whether this was poaching or creative use of a music heritage is immaterial.

Much that was described as training or education in music was the gradual appropriation of various aspects of music like perfection of the sur (note), the lagao of the sur and the correct application of the shrutis (the microtones). This was followed by barhat, the elaboration of the tonal structure –the raga and then its various forms, independent of the word in pure vocal or sonic terms The bandish and composition stage came later-These days, a bandish is what can be ‘stolen’ or ‘copied.’ The rest is not considered worthy of dispute.

The process of becoming familiar with music and its parts was once considered a creative venture to appropriate to personalise and create within what existed outside. This entire process, typically spread over many years, was seen in the context of creativity or a process of making the stream of human endeavouur one’s own. It was like developing a feel for the language that one inherited rather than creating a new language for sake of one’s unique experience.

When film song was introduced, it caught on, especially in the sub continent. It appropriated plenty of material as musical heritage. Whether this was poaching or creative use of a music heritage is immaterial. Most of the leading composers refreshed their musical prowess by delving in this reservoir of musical heritage and created the film song ensconcing it in different set of conditions like limited duration; reliance on lyrics in contemporary idiom; and the tentative adjustment with the situation in the film.

In a sense, the heritage was being created anew; a new form, immensely popular, emerged as a result. Whether this can be described as originality can be disputed. The effort is usually perceived as a reinforcement of the musical material in a new set of circumstances e.g. changed instrumentation. In terms of totality, it is impossible to pass a verdict as creativity may be an end rather than a process. Artificial intelligence, too, should not be saddled with a final verdict. It should instead be allowed to regenerate itself and meander or trundle before discovering its path and possibly a new form.

The author is an art critic based in Lahore