Laughter filled the courtroom as a robotic version of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" began to play in the testimony of alleged plagiarism by British singer-songwriter and hitmaker Ed Sheeran.
What was so funny?
The lawsuit was brought against him by the heirs of the original songwriter, Edward Townsend.
A computer-generated rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" sent laughter throughout the courtroom during the plagiarism trial against the British singer-songwriter.
The 32-year-old singer is being sued by the family of songwriter Edward Townsend for allegedly using parts of his composition on one of his songs.
On Tuesday, there was a trial in which Ed had to answer questions about the potential copyright infringement of his 2014 number-one song, "Thinking Out Loud."
Allegedly, this track copied harmonic progressions and melodic and rhythmic elements from an earlier piece without authorization. Ed has denied any wrongdoing firmly.
On Wednesday, the Manhattan Federal Court was abuzz with hilarity when a plaintiff musicology expert, Dr. Alexander Stewart, unveiled an AI rendition of the soul star's song.
After being played in court, it quickly became apparent that machine learning had been used to recreate the classic track.
Despite its uncanny similarity to the original version, subtle differences were still noticeable.
At his defense table, a grin suppressed, Ed Sheeran seemed amused by a robotic voice singing, "Giving yourself to me can never be wrong," according to an article by Business Insider.
Laughter erupted in response as it continued: "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on baby" with each syllable pronounced crisply and without any of its usual rhythm.
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At the end of Gaye and Townsend's song, a lawyer asked musicologist Dr. Alexander Stewart: "Did that sound particularly soulful to you?" But before a response could be given, Ed's lawyers called out their objection.
The trauma suffered by Kathryn Griffin-Townsend, the heiress of the late Mr. Townesend, was palpable when she heard the AI rendition of her father's track - a sound that she described as "hideous."
"I think he would have laughed to hear it. Because he had a sense of humour," Kathryn said.
The trial is expected for about a week.
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