Beethoven's Ninth and AI's Tenth: A comparison of human and computational creativity

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827, leaving behind several dozen sketches for his Tenth Symphony. In 2021, a team of computer scientists and musicians trained an artificial neural network to create a realization of the third and fourth movements. Comparing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to the algorithmic Tenth reveals differences between human and computational creativity. In its speed and fecundity, the AI model captures some of the features of spontaneous human creativity. However, it is less equipped for deliberate creativity, which requires non-linear thinking, context-driven decision-making, elaborating unusual choices, and the capacity to revise. Implications for cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and education are discussed.