Human vs AI

Lesson Objective

Students will analyze and identify differences in musical compositions created by humans versus those generated by artificial intelligence. They will develop critical listening skills and apply their understanding of musical elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and form to distinguish between human creativity and AI-generated work.

Relevant Curriculum Area

• National Core Arts Standards (NCAS): Responding (Anchor Standards 7 and 9)
  • Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
  • Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Materials Needed

• Audio recordings or MIDI files of two short, contrasting pieces of music: one created by a human composer and one generated by AI.
  • Example 1 (Human): Excerpt from Ludwig van Beethoven’s "Für Elise" (approximately 30 seconds).
  • Example 2 (AI): An AI-generated piece created by OpenAI’s MuseNet or AIVA, meant to simulate a classical style (approximately 30 seconds).
• Whiteboard or digital board for brainstorming and collecting student observations.
• Handouts with key musical vocabulary for analysis (e.g., melody, dynamics, tempo, texture, harmony).

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Lesson Breakdown

Introduction (3 minutes)

1. Start with a provocation: Ask students, “What makes music feel human?” Write their responses on the board. Encourage answers related to emotions, imperfections, expression, etc.
2. Transition: Explain that today, they will explore the boundary between creativity and technology by identifying whether a piece of music is human-made or AI-generated.

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Activity: Listening Challenge (15 minutes)

Step 1: First Listening (5 minutes)

1. Play Excerpt 1 (Human): Beethoven's "Für Elise." Ask students to close their eyes and focus on the details of the music.
   Guiding prompting questions:
   • What stands out to you emotionally?
   • Are there any imperfections, hesitations, or variations that suggest human expression?
2. Play Excerpt 2 (AI): The AI-composed classical piece. Have students focus on the same elements.
   Guiding prompting questions:
   • Does this piece feel mechanical or overly precise?
   • Does it evoke the same kind of emotion as the human-made piece?

Step 2: Pair and Share (3 minutes)

• Ask students to discuss with a partner which piece they believe was created by a human and why. They should use specific musical elements to defend their reasoning (e.g., “The dynamics in the first piece felt more nuanced, which made me think it was human-made.”).

Step 3: Second Listening with Clues (5 minutes)

1. Replay both excerpts. This time, provide students with a handout of musical elements to guide deeper analysis:
   • Melody: Is it predictable or surprising?
   • Dynamics: Does the piece show changes in loudness, and do they feel expressive or programmed?
   • Rhythm: Is it rigid or does it have a natural flow?
   • Texture and Harmony: Does the music feel too perfect or repetitive?
2. On the board or their worksheets, students will jot down their analytical observations.

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Conclusion (2 minutes)

1. Reveal the Truth: Share with the class which piece was human-made and which was AI-generated.
2. Reflection Question: “Does it matter if music is created by a human or AI, or is the emotional response all that counts?” Discuss briefly as a class.
3. Exit Ticket: Each student writes a one-sentence response to “What makes music feel alive?”

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Teaching Strategies

• Think-Pair-Share: Engages all students by combining individual thinking, collaboration, and broader class discussion.
• Scaffolded Listening: Provides students with gradual exposure to the musical excerpts, starting with broad impressions and progressing to specific analysis using established musical criteria.

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Assessment

• Formative Observation: Monitor student discussions and the quality of their handout responses during the listening activity.
• Exit Tickets: Assess whether students can articulate the key characteristics that make music feel "alive" and human.

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Differentiation

• For Advanced Students: Encourage them to compare the AI-generated piece to another human-composed piece and discuss how AI might be programmed to replicate creative decisions.
• For Struggling Students: Pair them with peers and provide visual aids, such as a musical diagram of dynamics, rhythm, and harmony, to simplify analysis.

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Extension Activity

Challenge students to use an AI composition tool (like MuseNet or Soundraw) outside of class to generate a short musical piece. In the next lesson, they can present their AI-generated compositions and explain the musical choices they made in directing the AI.