The Robot Sings of Love

THE ROBOT SINGS OF LOVE THE ROBOT (singing): “O, soul of my soul, I love thee—” But the Robot has no soul. And having no soul he can not love. Small wonder the lady spurns his suit. Now, if the Robot can a ridicu lous figure beneath a lady’s bal cony, why expect IT to thrill intelligent theatre goers in the character of Canned Music? * * * Music is an emotional art. By means of feeling may be translated into all tongues. The Robot, having no capacity for feeling, cannot produce music in a true sense. THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS (Campaigning 140,000 professional musicians in the United States and Canada) JOSEPH N. WEBER, President, 1440 Broadway, New York, N. Y. THE ROBOT (singing): “O, soul of my soul, I love thee—” You can see in rethinking the proposal that mechanical music is adequate fare for the Ameri- can intellect by joining the Music Defense League. Sign and mail the coupon. American Federation of Musicians 140 Broadway, New York, N.Y.

A vintage American Federation of Musicians propaganda advertisement depicts a robot serenading a woman while arguing that a machine has no soul or emotional capacity and therefore cannot make true music. The joke is a historical parallel to modern anti-AI art arguments: yesterday’s “canned music” panic resembles today’s resistance to machine-generated creativity, making the old ad feel unexpectedly contemporary. EN: A vintage American Federation of Musicians propaganda advertisement depicts a robot serenading a woman while arguing that a machine has no soul or emotional capacity and therefore cannot make true music. The joke is a historical parallel to modern anti-AI art arguments: yesterday’s “canned music” panic resembles today’s resistance to machine-generated creativity, making the old ad feel unexpectedly contemporary.

• @gentoomemes / 3429 2023-03-27