ST. GEORGE — LaVerkin Elementary School recently introduced a new school anthem created with the help of artificial intelligence.
This image shows lyrics to the song suno.ai generated | Photo courtesy of Gabbi Young, St. George News
Principal Gabbi Young and her husband, Steve Young, used the free platform suno.ai, which allows users to either generate a random song or specify keywords to influence the mood and genre, which is just what the Youngs did.
Generative AI involves technology that can produce new content such as music, art and soon video based on provided data sets.
“We had a song that was great, but it was short,” the principal said. “We just needed an update.”
She said her prompt on suno.ai generated about 10 to 15 songs, out of which, she selected three and then turned the decision-making over to the students at the school.
The finalists were presented to the student body during a “Cub News” broadcast, a Monday tradition in LaVerkin. After listening, students cast their votes for the new school song.
Young admitted her initial reservations about AI’s role in creativity, but the student response — enthusiastic and passionate about several of the possibilities — was positive feedback.
“The AI was super helpful, especially for someone like me who’s not super musically talented,” she said.
Much of the student body took their votes very seriously, and they were dedicated to listening to each option multiple times to see which one best exemplified their school, said fourth grade teacher Becky Seymour.
“I’m really glad the students got to vote on a school song and that we got them involved in the process,” Seymour said.
LaVerkin Elementary School is shown, LaVerkin, Utah, April 25, 2024 | Photo by Bridger Palmer, St. George News
Students Hannah Woodbury and Saylor Victor cite specific lines that drew them to vote for the winning anthem.
“I love when it says, ‘Fearless learners reaching for the sky,’ so we can do anything because the sky is the limit,” Hannah said.
Saylor said the line “Hear us roar” reminds her classmates to have pride and help strengthen one another.
Suno.ai’s tagline is “No instrument needed, just imagination. From your mind to music.”
Artificial art is a controversial topic for content creators, and users are being given more AI options than ever these days. For Young, AI has been a generous tool that helped achieve a mission.
While she is happy with the song, she plans to continue working on it with the help of the children.
“I’m still fine-tuning it,” she said. “I’m going to add another chorus to it. Because the chorus is the best part.”
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