DALLAS, Pa. — Jonathan Pineno, assistant teaching professor of music and art and director of the Friedman Art Gallery at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, has received a seed grant offered through the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses. The grant supports his ongoing research project, “The Ethics of Using Artificial Intelligence to Create Music.”
“My [research project] was inspired by a ‘Switched on Pop’ podcast, called ‘Can AI Algorithms Write Pop Songs?’ The host discussed the ethics and complications of using artificial intelligence (AI) programs to create music,” Pineno said.
To date, Pineno has created more than 100 diverse musical compilations utilizing multiple online music-generating programs.
The scope of work for Pineno’s research project includes the creation and distribution of formal and informal surveys and polls completed by students enrolled in arts courses at Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Penn State Hazleton, as well as faculty and staff.
Students enrolled in two of Pineno’s American popular music courses create, review and comment on the ethics of using AI to create music. They establish a workflow to add original student-generated compositions to a repository for class review. Once the music is evaluated, it could be posted on a YouTube channel for public viewing and to garner additional comments.
Two students at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Nicholas Salsberg and William Buzinkai, are assisting Pineno with the project by researching, cataloging and collating relevant data. They plan to present the data at Celebration of Scholarship, an annual event hosted by Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Nesbitt Library, where students showcase current research, scholarship and artistic endeavors.
Pineno will be sharing his findings and insights during “Confronting the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence,” a three-day National Interdisciplinary Conference at the University of Scranton scheduled for April 16-18. Pineno’s presentation is on Friday, April 17, from 12:20 to 1:00 p.m. in McGurrin Hall, room 202. He was selected to present at the conference after submitting a proposal to the planning committee for the National Interdisciplinary Conference.
Pineno earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Mansfield University and his master’s degree in clarinet performance from Temple University. He studied with Anthony Gigliotti, first chair clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and performed as principal clarinetist for many area orchestras and theaters. Before Penn State, he taught music classes for more than 30 years in the Lake-Lehman School District in addition to directing and producing elementary and high school plays and musicals.