Why the AI boom doesn't scare me one bit.

Every generation, there is a new cultural and societal phenomena that is introduced to the whole which is often met with equal parts skepticism and excitement. Imagine having been one of the early inhabitants on Earth and discovering fire. Or inventing the wheel. Or the invention of the car. The internet. As a natural human response to all things new and foreign, skepticism is commonplace. Fear even, as an innate self-preservation mechanic kicks in en masse. But also the overselling and overpromising of the potential of the newly introduced phenomena. It didn’t take long for cars to be sold to the public of having the potential of flying, to the point where the leaders of imagination in film and writing had them in movies and books. The introduction of AI has been met with extremes on both ends but I waver in neither direction. I think when people imagine AI, they picture a scene from iRobot where Will Smith’s character is frantically storming around Los Angeles trying to stop the impending doom of mankind at the hands of robot AI. Or the Matrix movies where the machines have become so sentient that they have now taken over the world. That’s not happening in my lifetime and won’t happen in the lifetimes of the next 40 generations of my offspring. So what is a realistic concern?

I don’t want to bore you with the minutia on the origins of AI. There will be more than enough of that in the coming years. As a creative who writes music, produces music, and directs music videos, my angle is both the potential of AI as a tool but the very real(real in that they are really expressed) fears of the replacement theory. Lets start with the fears first, as I’m a very confrontational person and love to tackle challenges head on. There are concerns from creatives that AI can eventually become so well done that it will replace the need for human invention. There are also fears, as even expressed by the super-talented Sheryl Crow that her voice can be used without her permission to create songs that she has had nothing to do with. As Al Jazeera reported, a fake song by AI versions of Drake and The Weeknd went viral and appeared on Apple Music and Spotify. In my belief, these are copyright/trademark/exploit fears more than they are replacement theory fears. Considering the influx and changes in the music industry I don’t put it past some record label exec. to want to monetize the voice of an artist that is on payroll to keep finances in the black. Slimier things have been done to artists in time past. And because of such, it is incredibly necessary to maintain a structure where artists can’t be exploited in life or death….but this still isn’t a replacement. I don’t believe humans can or will ever be replaced. Using the same examples, a human sat down and “created” the Drake/Weeknd song even though using AI versions of Drake and Weeknd voices. It will always take human creativity and invention. AI can not, yet, create from inception/conception. AI can’t feel. AI can’t love. AI can’t hurt. AI can’t be inspired by beauty. AI can’t relate. All forms of art serve to remind us about the human experience and how we connect and relate to each other through this experience as so much of it is shared.

I shot a music video for my song entitled “RIOT” which has a burning cross in it with 4 models dressed in Gunne Sax clothing standing in front of the cross to pull from imagery of 1800s/1900s Mississippi. There is a yearning to speak to people about current day circumstances using imagery from yesteryear to drive home the point. AI has never experienced so AI couldn’t “come up” with this from the ether like I did. And this is why AI does not scare me. AI can be nothing but a tool. When I source images for treatments for my music videos, I use AI tools to get close to the ballpark of what I’m looking for and it’s pretty good at that. When AI tools are good enough to aid in music creation/production, I will surely use them but the tools could never replace the hands that use them. I am the driving force. I’m the sentient being. And this relationship will remain so, regardless of how highly marketed the potential of AI is.