Currently, in Audacity, users need to manually adjust the recording level. However, if Audacity incorporated AI technology, it could potentially automate or assist in adjusting the recording level in the following ways:
Automatic Level Detection: By implementing AI algorithms, Audacity could analyze the incoming audio signal and automatically detect the optimal recording level. The AI would take into account factors such as volume, background noise, and potential clipping to dynamically adjust the recording level. This automation would ensure optimal audio quality without requiring manual intervention.
AI-Assisted Level Recommendations: Audacity could leverage AI to provide recommendations for setting the recording level. Based on the characteristics of the input signal, AI algorithms could suggest an appropriate level range for recording, considering factors like signal-to-noise ratio and avoiding clipping. These recommendations would be displayed to the user, helping them set the recording level more accurately.
Real-time Visual Feedback: Integrating AI into Audacity would enable the software to provide real-time visual feedback on the recording level. This could involve a more advanced recording level meter with color-coded indicators or graphical representations that dynamically adjust based on the input signal. The AI could offer visual cues to indicate when the recording level is optimal or needs adjustment.
Learning User Preferences: With AI, Audacity could learn from the user’s recording habits and preferences over time. By analyzing the user’s past recording sessions, the AI system could identify patterns and adapt the recording level settings accordingly. This personalized approach would streamline the recording process and provide a more tailored experience for individual users.
AI-Powered Noise Reduction: Audacity could employ AI algorithms to analyze recorded audio and identify background noise or unwanted artifacts. By utilizing AI noise reduction techniques, Audacity could automatically remove or reduce noise during the recording process, thereby improving the overall audio quality without requiring manual adjustment of the recording level.
There might be licensing issues with AI. Audacity is open source so it would have to be a free open source license.
It’s a crazy time for AI with everything rapidly changing and I doubt the Audacity developers or users want to be on the “bleeding edge”. As a user, I would like Audacity to be fairly stable so it works pretty-much the same way next month as it did last month.
That’s super easy and it doesn’t require AI. But it’s also impossible to predict the future… It can’t know the future incoming levels.
And digital recording levels aren’t critical anyway as long as you aren’t clipping or as long as the levels are not WAY too low.
You have a level meter. And again, recording levels are not that critical.
There are tools for checking/analyzing /adjusting the levels after recording but they don’t require AI. (Audacity is missing a built-in LUFS loudness analyzer.)
It’s a lot easier for you to learn your own set-up and it’s easier for you to know when you’ve changed something in your setup or when you switch from recording a book to recording a guitar, etc.
I assume that’s “coming soon” and that will be “big”. But I wouldn’t expect it to be built-into Audacity. It’s not something that will be developed by a small team. And it would have to be open source to be included in Audacity.
Noise is “the last remaining issue” with audio. It’s the main difference between a home studio and a soundproof pro studio.
And again, recording levels are not that critical.