Chief Conductor Eivind Aadland with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in November 2025. Photo © Caleb Miller

In November, the Macquarie Dictionary announced its word of the year for 2025: AI slop. Whether we like it or not, AI-generated content has infiltrated work, education, leisure and culture. But meaningless ‘AI slop’ is the most insidious. So, it’s no surprise to see Australian orchestras resisting the trend and reminding audiences they offer something that even the most ingeniously crafted prompt could never deliver – authentic, original music-making. 

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra sums it up: “Forever Live . . . music made by real people, in real time.” The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra spells it out, reminding us that “algorithms are corralling us into narrow streams” and promising that “in this scrambled, screen-glazed, data-numbed world, we’re here to help you really, humanly feel something. To feel...