AIs in the Loop
"Human in the loop" is the equal division of labor in an automated system such as a driverless vehicle. In a musical context, it is interesting to have the reverse with an "AI in the loop". In a sense, jazz improvisation involves an "algorithm" in the brain operating at a sub-conscious level, processing input to some kind of output in a feedback loop. Ideally what you want from an AI in a band with humans is to listen to what the other players are doing and react accordingly. Resolving dissonances between voices is somewhat easier at a slow tempo--some non-chord tones resolve up and some resolve down. At faster tempos dissonances can dissolve into a wash of pitches, in which pattern can be recognized. Markov Chains are also an elegant way to think about what happens as music spins out in live performances on a set "instructions" such as a set of chord changes and a melody. ("The Head" in jazz). The output feeds back into the inp...
