Overview
For most of his career, the Emmy Award–winning composer and producer Lucas Cantor Santiago was a self-described luddite. Technology, he felt, was moving too fast, transforming the world and the arts with no regard for the cost in tradition, hard-won human wisdom, and tried-and-true methods of mastery. That changed, however, when Cantor Santiago was commissioned by Huawei, one of the largest technology companies on the planet, to collaborate with artificial intelligence and finish Franz Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony—a successful experiment that attracted attention throughout the world. Creating music in collaboration with a machine led him to question his long-standing assumptions about what music is, what technology does, and how the two have evolved together over the course of human history, from the first bone flute to today’s landscape of constant innovation and change. Drawing on Cantor Santiago’s extensive experience in the arts and tech worlds and his ongoing experiments with AI-powered musicmaking, Unfinished is an engaging and refreshingly optimistic meditation on the role of technology in music and the arts. What is the current state of the art? How did we get here? Where do we go now? This book provides an informed perspective on what is lost but what we also gain when we bring our machines ever further into the creation of art in its many different forms.
Reviews
""The world is full of theories about human-AI partnerships. Here you have a book--charming, surprising, illuminating--that goes beyond the certainties of theory to find the possibilities of practice."" --Angus Fletcher, author of Primal Intelligence and Professor of Story Science at Ohio State's Project Narrative ""Lucas is thinking about AI and music the way we all we should: with a mix of excitement, curiosity, and caution. In this super engaging (and even funny!) read, I learned more about music, AI, and how an artist can harness AI for good."" --Drew Thurlow, Author of Machine Music: How AI is Transforming Music's Next Act and former Senior VP of A&R, Sony Music ""If you're worried about what AI means for human creativity, read this book. It will make you feel better. Lucas Cantor has spent decades using technology to make art. In Unfinished, he shows us that music and technology have always evolved together, and he explains how that evolution will continue in the age of AI. Unfinished reminded me that technology and art have always evolved together, and it helped me understand how that evolution will continue in the age of AI. If you or the publisher want to propose any tweaks, I'm happy to look at them."" --Host of the podcast Business History and author of Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing ""As a researcher on the front lines of creative AI, this is the book I've been waiting for. Lucas Cantor Santiago's raw, honest journey shows how working alongside this technology allows us to find new sounds and make new meaning. Unfinished proves the ghost in the machine isn't something to fear, but a new kind of collaborator that amplifies our own creativity."" --Kory Mathewson, Artist & Research Scientist at Google DeepMind ""Lucas Cantor Santiago has written a book about AI and music that is both timely and reassuring. He reminds us that new technology, from the primitive bone flute to Hans Zimmer's powerful computer rigs, has always enabled humans to create new sounds and invent fresh musical languages. Like all musical inventions throughout time, AI will at first astound and even confound us, but in time it will abound and become yet another tool of human creativity. It is up to us to ensure that that creativity is recognised and rewarded. With his personal experience as a composer, including using AI to finish Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Lucas is clear that AI will not replace music makers but will be a springboard for future human creativity. This is an accessible and entertaining book fizzing with ideas and insights that should be read by musicians, music fans and policy makers who want to understand the implications of AI for the future soundtrack of humankind."" --Lord Brennan Of Canton ""The AI discourse is full of people who will explain it all to you without knowing the first thing about it. That's why Lucas Cantor Santiago's Unfinished is so necessary. Having used AI to finish Schubert's unfinished symphony, Cantor has learned about AI by doing, and his book reveals the strengths and the limits of the new technology more thoroughly than a dozen empty prophets."" --Author of Death of an Author, the first AI-generated novel reviewed by The New York Times. """"Unfinished"" by composer Lucas Cantor Santiago is an incredibly insightful and entertaining journey through the complex relationship between nascent AI technologies and contemporary music creation. The currently ubiquitous questions and concerns surrounding the future of human music-making in the age of AI are addressed and examined in virtuoso fashion through a whirlwind exploration of the age-old relationship between music and technology across more than two millennia - with results that are both surprising and inspiring."" --Kubilay Uner, composer and director of the Music Composition for the Screen MFA program at Columbia College Chicago ""The book is a major history and sociology lesson which I found fascinating and totally attainable and understandable to a dumbass such as myself! Incredibly well researched and explains AI in a way that is totally new to me. Well done."" --M.B. Gordy, 2X Grammy winning Drummer, Percussionist, Composer ""Lucas Cantor Santiago brings a compelling and insightful perspective on the evolving relationship between music and technology, showing how they've been inextricably linked from humanity's earliest instruments to the sophisticated AI of today. He also shows this evolution through his fascinating personal journey through the music industry, culminating in his high-profile collaboration with AI. It's a rich exploration of how we imbue sound with meaning and the ways that music might evolve in the near future. An important read for navigating the future of art."" --Mark Henry Phillips, Reporter (On the Media, Radiolab, All Things Considered) and Composer (Serial, Homecoming, Passenger List) ""In a remarkable mix of autobiography, philosophy, and technical detail, industry-insider Lucas Cantor's Unfinished weaves a spellbinding account of what happened to the business of both capturing and creating music over the next 60 years."" --George Dyson, Author of Turing's Cathedral ""One of the eminent geniuses of our time explains it all for you. In a language all can understand."" --Lenny Beer, Editor In Chief of HITS Magazine ""I'm delighted that Lucas Cantor Santiago, a phenomenal young composer and writer and someone I had the pleasure of watching grow up as the child of dear friends (renowned author Esmeralda Santiago and filmmaker Frank Cantor), has taken it upon himself to be such a guide. Using our world of film music as a backdrop, he wrestles with some of the most pressing questions of our time. Lucas has carved a unique career for himself, operating at the frontier where technology and music meet, and has brought us a bounty of expertise and playful insight that makes for a fascinating read."""" --Alan Menken, Composer best known for scoring iconic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas. He has won eight Academy awards and is among the rare group to achieve EGOT status for his work in film and theatre. ""Music is math. Music is language. Music is meaning. Music is process. Emmy-award winning composer and producer Lucas Cantor Santiago invites readers to rethink their relationship with technology in music. Drawing from philosophy, music history and an engaging personal narrative, Lucas explores the evolving relationship between music, technology and artificial intelligence. At the heart of the book is Lucas' collaboration with Huawei's AI model to complete Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony - a commission as complex as it is controversial. In a world ringing with opinions about generative AI, Lucas offers a calming perspective: that technology at its best is a collaborative tool to open our imagination rather than replace it. Whether you embrace technology with optimism and shy away for fear of its future impact, Unfinished inspires us to consider the deeply human experience of mastering our creative tools to tell the stories of humanity - be it with a sheet of paper or a computer. Each act of creativity, whether made collaboratively with technology or despite it is a uniquely human affair marked by the emotional resonance it brings us as composers and performers and the shared experiences our music fosters with others. Together they form humanity's ongoing symphony of artistic endeavor-a piece that is, and always will be, unfinished."" --Michael Strickland, Specialized Faculty in Music Technology, Florida State University ""Unfinished cuts through both the hype and the hysteria to show us that music has always been a technological art form, and that technology amplifies rather than replaces the fundamentally human acts of creating meaning and moving an audience. This is essential reading for anyone trying to understand where music, tech, and AI actually meet - and why, at the end of the day, human musicians remain vital to our future."" --Cherie Hu, Founder, Water & Music ""Lucas Cantor Santiago's 'Unfinished' reveals that technology is not a replacement for human creativity but an extension of our ability to tell stories, evoke emotions, and shape the future of music art. In a time of rapid change, the true masterpiece is our ongoing pursuit of meaning-an eternal, unfinished symphony."" --Manny Maroquin, Music entrepreneur and 18 time Grammy Award winning mixer for artists like Post Malone, Rihana, Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, John Mayer, Alicia Keys and many others... ""An important and timely read for anyone curious about how our tools, from flutes to computers, have shaped what we call music. What Lucas does so well is pose the right questions about AI's role in music composition with thoughtfulness and care. Exploring the complexities of human consciousness and creative expression, he invites us to imagine AI not as a replacement for human creativity and skill, but as a tool that can help push us forward, expanding the future of composition."" --Michele Darling Chair, Electronic Production and Design, Berklee College of Music ""When reading Unfinished, one can start see a new conversation that is growing about the art of making music in the modern world. Lucas Cantor Santiago weaves a story of personal and technological epiphanies that will give some insight into all of us that are wondering what's next and what the future will hold."" --Dom Flemons, 'The American Songster' Singer, Songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist, Grammy award winner
""The world is full of theories about human-AI partnerships. Here you have a book--charming, surprising, illuminating--that goes beyond the certainties of theory to find the possibilities of practice."" --Angus Fletcher, author of Primal Intelligence and Professor of Story Science at Ohio State's Project Narrative ""Lucas is thinking about AI and music the way we all we should: with a mix of excitement, curiosity, and caution. In this super engaging (and even funny!) read, I learned more about music, AI, and how an artist can harness AI for good."" --Drew Thurlow, Author of Machine Music: How AI is Transforming Music's Next Act and former Senior VP of A&R, Sony Music ""If you're worried about what AI means for human creativity, read this book. It will make you feel better. Lucas Cantor has spent decades using technology to make art. In Unfinished, he shows us that music and technology have always evolved together, and he explains how that evolution will continue in the age of AI. Unfinished reminded me that technology and art have always evolved together, and it helped me understand how that evolution will continue in the age of AI. If you or the publisher want to propose any tweaks, I'm happy to look at them."" --Host of the podcast Business History and author of Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing ""As a researcher on the front lines of creative AI, this is the book I've been waiting for. Lucas Cantor Santiago's raw, honest journey shows how working alongside this technology allows us to find new sounds and make new meaning. Unfinished proves the ghost in the machine isn't something to fear, but a new kind of collaborator that amplifies our own creativity."" --Kory Mathewson, Artist & Research Scientist at Google DeepMind ""Lucas Cantor Santiago has written a book about AI and music that is both timely and reassuring. He reminds us that new technology, from the primitive bone flute to Hans Zimmer's powerful computer rigs, has always enabled humans to create new sounds and invent fresh musical languages. Like all musical inventions throughout time, AI will at first astound and even confound us, but in time it will abound and become yet another tool of human creativity. It is up to us to ensure that that creativity is recognised and rewarded. With his personal experience as a composer, including using AI to finish Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Lucas is clear that AI will not replace music makers but will be a springboard for future human creativity. This is an accessible and entertaining book fizzing with ideas and insights that should be read by musicians, music fans and policy makers who want to understand the implications of AI for the future soundtrack of humankind."" --Lord Brennan Of Canton ""The AI discourse is full of people who will explain it all to you without knowing the first thing about it. That's why Lucas Cantor Santiago's Unfinished is so necessary. Having used AI to finish Schubert's unfinished symphony, Cantor has learned about AI by doing, and his book reveals the strengths and the limits of the new technology more thoroughly than a dozen empty prophets."" --Author of Death of an Author, the first AI-generated novel reviewed by The New York Times. """"Unfinished"" by composer Lucas Cantor Santiago is an incredibly insightful and entertaining journey through the complex relationship between nascent AI technologies and contemporary music creation. The currently ubiquitous questions and concerns surrounding the future of human music-making in the age of AI are addressed and examined in virtuoso fashion through a whirlwind exploration of the age-old relationship between music and technology across more than two millennia - with results that are both surprising and inspiring."" --Kubilay Uner, composer and director of the Music Composition for the Screen MFA program at Columbia College Chicago ""The book is a major history and sociology lesson which I found fascinating and totally attainable and understandable to a dumbass such as myself! Incredibly well researched and explains AI in a way that is totally new to me. Well done."" --M.B. Gordy, 2X Grammy winning Drummer, Percussionist, Composer ""Lucas Cantor Santiago brings a compelling and insightful perspective on the evolving relationship between music and technology, showing how they've been inextricably linked from humanity's earliest instruments to the sophisticated AI of today. He also shows this evolution through his fascinating personal journey through the music industry, culminating in his high-profile collaboration with AI. It's a rich exploration of how we imbue sound with meaning and the ways that music might evolve in the near future. An important read for navigating the future of art."" --Mark Henry Phillips, Reporter (On the Media, Radiolab, All Things Considered) and Composer (Serial, Homecoming, Passenger List) ""In a remarkable mix of autobiography, philosophy, and technical detail, industry-insider Lucas Cantor's Unfinished weaves a spellbinding account of what happened to the business of both capturing and creating music over the next 60 years."" --George Dyson, Author of Turing's Cathedral ""One of the eminent geniuses of our time explains it all for you. In a language all can understand."" --Lenny Beer, Editor In Chief of HITS Magazine ""I'm delighted that Lucas Cantor Santiago, a phenomenal young composer and writer and someone I had the pleasure of watching grow up as the child of dear friends (renowned author Esmeralda Santiago and filmmaker Frank Cantor), has taken it upon himself to be such a guide. Using our world of film music as a backdrop, he wrestles with some of the most pressing questions of our time. Lucas has carved a unique career for himself, operating at the frontier where technology and music meet, and has brought us a bounty of expertise and playful insight that makes for a fascinating read."""" --Alan Menken, Composer best known for scoring iconic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas. He has won eight Academy awards and is among the rare group to achieve EGOT status for his work in film and theatre. ""Music is math. Music is language. Music is meaning. Music is process. Emmy-award winning composer and producer Lucas Cantor Santiago invites readers to rethink their relationship with technology in music. Drawing from philosophy, music history and an engaging personal narrative, Lucas explores the evolving relationship between music, technology and artificial intelligence. At the heart of the book is Lucas' collaboration with Huawei's AI model to complete Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony - a commission as complex as it is controversial. In a world ringing with opinions about generative AI, Lucas offers a calming perspective: that technology at its best is a collaborative tool to open our imagination rather than replace it. Whether you embrace technology with optimism and shy away for fear of its future impact, Unfinished inspires us to consider the deeply human experience of mastering our creative tools to tell the stories of humanity - be it with a sheet of paper or a computer. Each act of creativity, whether made collaboratively with technology or despite it is a uniquely human affair marked by the emotional resonance it brings us as composers and performers and the shared experiences our music fosters with others. Together they form humanity's ongoing symphony of artistic endeavor-a piece that is, and always will be, unfinished."" --Michael Strickland, Specialized Faculty in Music Technology, Florida State University ""Unfinished cuts through both the hype and the hysteria to show us that music has always been a technological art form, and that technology amplifies rather than replaces the fundamentally human acts of creating meaning and moving an audience. This is essential reading for anyone trying to understand where music, tech, and AI actually meet - and why, at the end of the day, human musicians remain vital to our future."" --Cherie Hu, Founder, Writer & Music ""Lucas Cantor Santiago's 'Unfinished' reveals that technology is not a replacement for human creativity but an extension of our ability to tell stories, evoke emotions, and shape the future of music art. In a time of rapid change, the true masterpiece is our ongoing pursuit of meaning-an eternal, unfinished symphony."" --Manny Maroquin, Music entrepreneur and 18 time Grammy Award winning mixer for artists like Post Malone, Rihana, Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, John Mayer, Alicia Keys and many others...
""Only time will tell whether AI, this latest in civilizational toys, will turn out to be more Gutenberg press or atomic weapon, but one thing is for sure: we will rely on voices of reason to shepherd us through the fog and signpost the journey. Using our world of film music as a backdrop, Lucas Cantor Santiago wrestles with some of the most pressing questions of our time. Lucas has carved a unique career for himself, operating at the frontier where technology and music meet, and has brought us a bounty of expertise and playful insight that makes for a fascinating read."" --Alan Menken, EGOT winner and composer for films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin ""In a remarkable mix of autobiography, philosophy, and technical detail, industry insider Lucas Cantor Santiago's Unfinished weaves a spellbinding account of what happened-and will happen-to the business of both capturing and creating music over the next sixty years."" --George Dyson, author of Turing's Cathedral ""If you're worried about what AI means for human creativity, read this book. It will make you feel better. Lucas Cantor Santiago has spent decades using technology to make art. In Unfinished, he shows us that music and technology have always evolved together, and he explains how that evolution will continue in the age of AI."" --Jacob Goldstein, host of the podcast Business History and author of Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing ""In Unfinished, Lucas Cantor Santiago reminds us that artificial intelligence is a tool, not a rival, empowering artists to push the boundaries of creativity while staying true to the human spirit. The future of art isn't about replacement; it's about reinvention."" --Manny Maroquin, music entrepreneur and eighteen-time Grammy Award-winning mixer for Post Malone, Rihanna, and Kendrick Lamar ""Lucas is thinking about AI and music the way we all we should: with a mix of excitement, curiosity, and caution. In this super-engaging (and even funny!) read, I learned more about music, AI, and how an artist can harness AI for good."" --Drew Thurlow, author of Machine Music: How AI is Transforming Music's Next Act and former Senior VP of A&R, Sony Music ""The world is full of theories about human-AI partnerships. Here you have a book-charming, surprising, illuminating-that goes beyond the certainties of theory to find the possibilities of practice"" --Angus Fletcher, author of Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know ""Lucas Cantor Santiago has written a book about AI and music that is both timely and reassuring. He reminds us that new technology, from the primitive bone flute to Hans Zimmer's powerful computer rigs, has always enabled humans to create new sounds and invent fresh musical languages. This is an accessible and entertaining book fizzing with ideas and insights that should be read by musicians, music fans, and policymakers who want to understand the implications of AI for the future soundtrack of humankind."" --Lord Brennan Of Canton ""The AI discourse is full of people who will explain it all to you without knowing the first thing about it. That's why Lucas Cantor Santiago's Unfinished is so necessary. Having used AI to finish Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Cantor has learned about AI by doing, and his book reveals the strengths and the limits of the new technology more thoroughly than a dozen empty prophets."" --Steven Marche, author of Death of an Author, the first AI-generated novel reviewed by The New York Times ""As a researcher on the front lines of creative AI, this is the book I've been waiting for. Lucas Cantor Santiago's raw, honest journey shows how working alongside this technology allows us to find new sounds and make new meaning. Unfinished proves the ghost in the machine isn't something to fear, but a new kind of collaborator that amplifies our own creativity."" --Kory Mathewson, artist and research scientist at Google DeepMind ""This book is a major history and sociology lesson that I found fascinating and totally understandable. Thoroughly well-researched, it explains AI in a way that is completely new. Incredible in every respect."" --M.B. Gordy, two-time Grammy-winning drummer, percussionist, and composer ""An incredibly insightful and entertaining journey through the complex relationship between nascent AI technologies and contemporary music creation. The currently ubiquitous questions and concerns surrounding the future of human musicmaking in the age of AI are addressed and examined in virtuoso fashion through a whirlwind exploration of the age-old relationship between music and technology across millennia-with results that are both surprising and inspiring."" --Kubilay Uner, composer and director, Music Composition for the Screen MFA, Columbia College Chicago ""Lucas Cantor Santiago brings a compelling and insightful perspective on the evolving relationship between music and technology, showing how they've been inextricably linked from humanity's earliest instruments to the sophisticated AI of today. It's a rich exploration of how we imbue sound with meaning and the ways that music might evolve in the near future. An important read for navigating the future of art."" --Mark Henry Phillips, reporter (Radiolab, All Things Considered) and composer (Serial, Homecoming) ""One of the eminent geniuses of our time explains it all for you, in a language all can understand."" --Lenny Beer, Editor in Chief, HITS Magazine ""Unfinished inspires us to consider the deeply human experience of mastering our creative tools to tell the stories of humanity. Each act of creativity, whether made collaboratively with technology or despite it, contributes to our ongoing symphony of artistic endeavor-a piece that is, and always will be, unfinished."" --Michael Strickland, Specialized Faculty in Music Technology, Florida State University ""Unfinished cuts through both the hype and the hysteria to show us that music has always been a technological art form, and that technology amplifies rather than replaces the fundamentally human acts of creating meaning and moving an audience. This is essential reading for anyone trying to understand where music, tech, and AI actually meet-and why, at the end of the day, human musicians remain vital to our future."" --Cherie Hu, Founder, Water & Music ""An important and timely read for anyone curious about how our tools, from flutes to computers, have shaped what we call music. Exploring the complexities of human consciousness and creative expression, Lucas Cantor Santiago invites us to imagine AI not as a replacement for human creativity and skill, but as a tool that can help push us forward, expanding the future of composition."" --Michele Darling, Chair of Electronic Production and Design, Berklee College of Music ""When reading Unfinished, one can start see a new conversation that is growing about the art of making music in the modern world. Lucas Cantor Santiago weaves a story of personal and technological epiphanies that will give some insight for all of us that are wondering what's next and what the future will hold."" --Dom Flemons, ""The American Songster,"" singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Grammy Award winner ""Composer Cantor Santiago debuts with a robust, upbeat meditation on how artificial intelligence is shaping music production... Musicians will especially appreciate this enlightening and optimistic take on music's future."" --Publishers Weekly
Author Information
Lucas David Cantor Santiago is an author, producer, TEDx speaker, university guest lecturer, and two-time Emmy Award winner. He's collaborated with artists like Lorde, The Wu-Tang Clan, Spike Jonze, and Michel Gondry, and he's worked with major studios like FOX, NBC, Disney, Netflix, and DreamWorks. His music has reached hundreds of millions through radio, television, major films, and sports television broadcasts (including two Super Bowls). In 2019, Lucas used AI to complete Schubert's “Unfinished Symphony,” which is now performed by orchestras around the world. He is a founding General Partner at Mindset MusicTech, a venture capital fund that invests in music technology. He also mentors entrepreneurs through Abbey Road Redd and the British Phonographic Institute, investing in the next generation of music innovation.
