25  Large Language Models

Example 25.1 (David Bowie’s Verbasizer) David Bowie was one of the first artists to embrace AI and machine learning in his creative process. In the mid-1990s, Bowie collaborated with Ty Roberts to create the “Verbasizer” - an algorithmic text generator that would help Bowie overcome writer’s block and generate new lyrical ideas. The Verbasizer worked by taking existing text and randomly recombining words and phrases to create new combinations that Bowie could use as starting points for his songwriting. Bowie describes how this process results in a “kaleidoscope of meanings,” with words and ideas colliding in surprising ways. In the 1995 documentary, Bowie would input existing lyric into the Verbasizer, and whows how he used the system while writing his 1995 album “Outside,” explaining that the Verbasizer would take phrases like “I am a blackstar” and “I am a deadstar” and randomly combine them to create new variations that sparked his creative process.

The system was essentially an early form of natural language processing and text generation, though much simpler than modern AI systems like ChatGPT. Bowie describes in the documentary how the Verbasizer helped him break out of creative ruts and discover unexpected word combinations that he might not have thought of otherwise. He explains that the randomness of the algorithm would often produce surprising results that would lead him in new creative directions.

Bowie’s use of the Verbasizer demonstrates how AI can serve as a creative collaborator rather than just a tool for automation. The system didn’t write complete songs for Bowie, but rather provided him with creative prompts and starting points that he could then develop into finished works. This collaborative approach to AI-assisted creativity has become increasingly common in modern music production, with artists using AI tools for everything from melody generation to lyric writing assistance.

The Verbasizer represents an early example of how machine learning and AI can enhance human creativity rather than replace it. Bowie’s willingness to experiment with algorithmic tools in his creative process was ahead of its time and helped pave the way for the current generation of AI-powered creative tools used by musicians, writers, and other artists today.