Philippe Pasquier on MIDI-GPT and Creative AI

Philippe Pasquier is a professor at Simon Fraser University and director of the Metacreation Lab for Creative AI. In this episode, he shares insights from two decades at the intersection of artificial intelligence, creative tools, and generative music.We talk about what creativity means in the context of computer science and how AI systems like MIDI-GPT are designed to collaborate with musicians rather than replace them. Philippe explains how MIDI-GPT works, why prompting with music instead of text might be more useful for composers, and how the system allows for granular musical control.The conversation also explores the limitations of current AI tools, ethical questions around training on data from deceased artists, and how digital infrastructure might be governed in the future. Philippe speaks openly about the challenges independent labs face compared to tech giants and argues for more public and artist-centered AI development.