Evaluating Human-AI Interaction via Usability, User Experience and Acceptance Measures for MMM-C: A Creative AI System for Music Composition
Our paper was accepted and presented at the 32nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) taking place from 19th-25th August 2023 in Macao, S.A.R.
IJCAI 2023 Conference Page: Special Track on AI, the Arts and Creativity
Abstract
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), there has been increasing interest in human-AI co-creation in a variety of artistic domains including music as AI-driven systems are frequently able to generate human-competitive artifacts. Now, the implications of such systems for musical practice are being investigated. We report on a thorough evaluation of the user adoption of the Multi-Track Music Machine (MMM) as a co-creative AI tool for music composers. To do this, we integrate MMM into Cubase, a popular Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) by Steinberg, by producing a “1-parameter” plugin interface named MMM-Cubase (MMM-C), which enables human-AI co-composition. We contribute a methodological assemblage as a 3-part mixed method study measuring usability, user experience and technology acceptance of the system across two groups of expert-level composers: hobbyists and professionals. Results show positive usability and acceptance scores. Users report experiences of novelty, surprise and ease of use from using the system, and limitations on controllability and predictability of the interface when generating music. Findings indicate no significant difference between the two user groups.
Generated Music Files (on Soundcloud): Music generated by the participants using MMM-Cubase for all three tasks of arrangement, variation and original composition.
Technical Appendix: contains details on the measurement instruments used for evaluation
Extended Qualitative Report: contains extended qualitative data complementing the paper publication results.
Video Demo
MMM-Cubase Plugin Demo
In this video, we demonstrate the generative capabilities and interaction design of the MMM-Cubase plugin, a research project in partnership with Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
