Universities are often a mixing bowl of unique and new people, ideals and ideas. This is all good and happy until some of this chaos starts to touch things from the outside world, like the innocents that our campus culture drags into its undertow, the stray cats and dogs that come for a few minutes of love, and stay because it's better than the cold of the professional world.
Those innocents, the cats and dogs of the college system, the "strays" that us, college students, look at and "awe" and pet over, are often not the beneficiaries of the happy life we think they have. They are often underfed, under loved and homeless creatures.
These animals face many challenges that we remain unaware of, your happy neighborhood kitty may be too old to be adopted, they might be too disease ridden to save, and often are too feral to tame for the home life that they all deserve. Even the rare brave cat or dog will only get a few pats a day, and maybe a little MacDonalds food. However, a little fast food and love a day is hardly enough for an animal to remain healthy, and turning them over to animal control will likely lead them to a tragic end, considering their age, health, and social levels.
So what can you do for the furry little ones we all have come to love and care for?
First, check the animal for signs of identification. Check for a collar, and contact the owner if you can.
Ask around the neighborhood and call local animal shelters and rescues to see if anyone has filed a missing animal report.
If the animal seems friendly enough, you could try to capture it and take it to your local vet to scan it for a microchip.
Set up flyers and put some free ads in the paper asking if the pet has a home.
If the animal has a tipped or notched ear, that means that the animal might be a spayed or neutered stray, otherwise known as a "community pet"
See this great article on caring for community pets!
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/tip...
If no one knows anything about the pet, or is willing to help, your best course of action is to either try calling one of the great community pet resources listed here,
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/maps/feral-cat...
Or to ask around to see if anyone on campus is willing to give them pet a good home, or is willing to help you create a small (or large) community to help care for the pet on campus. You and your comrades can make sure that the pet is spayed, or nutered and has real cat or dog food, along with water, supplied to it every day.
this, along with routine checkups with a free clinic if you can find one (see the above link) should provide the pet with a healthy, happy life.
See below for a great example of when a campus pulled together to do this for their stray pets!
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus-cats-alr...
Just like Red and Black.com says, these healthy community pets don't need a home, they already are home.
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The Illusion of Creativity
AI-generated music is often marketed as “artistic” or “educational.” But what does it really teach?
- That style can be replicated without understanding.
- That emotion can be simulated without feeling.
- That effort can be bypassed with a prompt.
For young creators, this sets a dangerous precedent. Why learn to play guitar when an algorithm can do it faster? Why study harmony when AI can generate chord progressions in seconds? The risk isn’t just laziness — it’s the loss of depth, discipline, and the tactile joy of creation.
I have listened to several AI-generated music covers. My initial reaction was one of considerable impressiveness, particularly regarding the reimagining of classic pop hits in diverse genres with novel arrangements. Here is one good example a-ha — Take On Me
However, after engaging with several such Ai generated song covers, a sense of emotional detachment emerged, attributable to the perceived absence of human artistry and genuine sentiment, resulting in a technically flawless yet ultimately soulless auditory experience.
Copyright in Crisis
What does the copyright law say about AI generated music, especially in field of music covers. Who is liable for copyright in this case, AI developers, people who used AI to generate music or people who published it on music platforms?
Recent lawsuits show that the music industry is pushing back hard:
- Universal, Sony, and Warner sued AI music platforms Suno and Udio in 2024 for allegedly training their models on copyrighted songs without permission Ars Technica The Lyon Firm.
- They’re seeking up to $150,000 per infringed song, arguing that the AI outputs resemble famous tracks and voices (e.g., Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson).
- These lawsuits target the developers of the AI tools — but they raise broader questions:The legal gray area is training data. Courts haven’t yet ruled definitively on whether using copyrighted songs to train AI counts as infringement or fair use Sites at USC.
But who’s liable?
Role | Legal Risk | Why |
AI Developers | ✅ High | For training on copyrighted material without licenses. |
Users | ⚠️ Moderate | If they intentionally recreate protected works. |
Publishers/Platforms | ✅ High | For distributing infringing content. |
The grey area lies in training data. Courts haven’t yet ruled definitively on whether using copyrighted songs to train AI counts as infringement or fair use. Meanwhile, AI-generated works themselves aren’t eligible for copyright unless a human provides substantial creative input — leaving them in legal limbo.
The Educational Mirage
Some argue that AI music helps people learn genres, production styles, or vocal techniques. But this “education” often lacks context. It’s like learning to paint by watching a printer — technically impressive, but creatively hollow.
True musical education involves:
- Struggle and iteration: Learning through mistakes.
- Emotional connection: Expressing what words can’t.
- Cultural lineage: Understanding the roots of sound.
AI shortcuts bypass all of this. And in doing so, they risk flattening the rich terrain of human creativity into a sterile landscape of algorithmic mimicry.
Why This Fight Matters
This isn’t just about music. It’s about the future of art, storytelling, and human expression. If we allow machines to dominate creative spaces, we risk turning culture into content — optimized, monetized, and devoid of soul.
We must ask: Do we want a world where art is made by machines, or one where machines help humans make better art?
5 Key Takeaways
- AI-generated music blurs the line between innovation and erosion in the creative arts
- AI-generated music raises questions about copyright, culture, education, and artistic expression
- AI-generated music can replicate style without understanding, simulate emotion without feeling, and bypass effort with a prompt
- AI-generated music sets a dangerous precedent for young creators by potentially leading to a loss of depth, discipline, and joy of creation
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