New life

I'm doing a course on AI - and I'm aware that AI slop is filling our social media feeds and our lives in ways that bring a very negative perspective. But I'm learning a lot about how it can improve productivity, save time and do loads of other stuff too. There's a lot of concern about AI and creativity - how it is taking the human out of the process by copying, cloning, repeating, regurgitating... but there are good things too.

Since I cannot play guitar any more, a lot of my creativity is revolving around my old material - some rough recordings of my songs from 10 or more years back, for example. I've made some fun Clipchamp videos and shared them on my YouTube channel - but what I can't do is re-record them or do anything more musically. Well, I thought I couldn't.

May as well have and AI me too!

I am using AI. Not to create, not to 'cheat', but to do what I can no longer do. It feels like a new lease of life for my music. I always wanted to release a Neptune's Company album, and now I think I can. In just a couple of days, it has inspired me enough to finish a song I promised to write years ago - and the lyrics just came!

Watch this space. In the meantime, you can still listen to my originals here: CarrieCaz - YouTube

And get a taster of what one of my songs sounds like when it's been 'remastered' using AI here: and the original is on YouTube here.

I have to say, it brought tears to my eyes to hear my songs out loud, to hear them produced as I always wanted. I know there is a lot of push back on AI generated music, but this isn't AI generated - it's my music, just played by AI. Semantics? Maybe, but without it, I would not be able to keep playing. I can still play bass, but when I pick up a guitar now, it fair breaks my heart and the frustration and sadness are almost enough to stop me altogether. 

If I had all the money and time, I would pay real musicians and get my music produced, but who would produce it? I'm not exactly mainstream. The world has changed, for sure. I will still always prefer to listen to live, and want to play live - but when I can't? At least I can keep making music. I can write songs again, I can use that passion for music again - because my stupid hands won't stop me! 

(PS - don't forget that Bob Dylan was booed for playing an 'electric guitar' - how dare he!)

Liked this? Try...

• Back to skule
• Music, music
• American folk
• So long (from Shave the Monkey)

Last journey

Front seat, his seat.

Beside the one he adored.

Never had his head out the window, 

Not that common.

On his bed, cold, quiet.

He’ll come back

Onyx wrapped, ashes.

Always with us,

In our hearts and memories.

RIP Chizel. Gawd I miss that little dog!

Happy birthday Philip David Sheppard

Why a blog post to wish my brother happy birthday? Why not! I don't know where he lives, his email or his phone number, but I do want to wish him well on his 70th birthday.

Oddly he's appeared in a couple of my dreams recently, and I remember waking up thinking how nice it was to see him again. 

Happy birthday Phil, I do hope life is treating you well. Sending love from the family, which includes nephew (in Australia), your niece (in Cambridgeshire), your great niece (Bella) and great nephew (River).

And of course from me, your sister, and your sister-in-law Sheena. It might make you smile to know that her son calls me 'dad'. I hope so.

Happy birthday bro.

#philipdavidsheppard #philipdwightsheppard

Back to skule

Bad blogger! - no posts since last year and it's 1st April already. However, this blog post is not an April fool - I really am studying again.

Having done a Diploma in Direct Marketing, and a Diploma in Fundraising, I am now launching yet another learning experience - this time in AI.

Why, at my 'time of life'? Ignoring all the 'Plan your perfect retirement' messages and connections on LinkedIn, I'm not ready to hang up my fundraising boots just yet. Why AI? Because it needs understanding and - in the third sector - we need to harness it for good.

There are many ethical considerations, not least of which is the amount of energy/water the systems that power AI use. As someone with a strong conservation background, this does concern me - but even more so it makes me want to use AI to produce good outcomes, not just a funny meme of me in cartoon format.

The course I am on is an Apprenticeship in Business Analysis, using AI. With Corndel and the Imperial College, I am going to (hopefully) get another diploma level qualification. But the qualification isn't the end goal - it's what I can do with it to make work easier (ergo better spend donor's money, ergo better serve our charitable aims). And that's what motivates me - why I want to keep working, and keep learning - even though my course takes me beyond my 'state retirement date' (assuming that the government doesn't change it again).

This course will take around 17 months, but at the end of it - whether I get a qualification or not, I will hopefully have another set of skills that I can use not just at work, but in other areas of my life too. 

The picture may be AI, but the writing is 100% me. 

Liked this? Try... 

• The somewhat odd life of a musician and fundraiser: A sense of justice

Useful resources:

• Building trust in data and AI
• Corndel and Imperial College