I like watching videos on You Tube involving the arts. Ex: young musicians just starting out, content creators who teach the arts, give guitar lessons, drumming lessons, teach fiction writing, and a wide array of artists. Well, the other day I saw a video about Artificial Intelligence in the arts. I’ve blogged about using AI in the creating process before…I consider it a cheat, a way to to use technology to get around a lack of talent, or because of laziness, or whatever. I won’t even use something like Microsoft’s Copilot. I’ll survive on my own merit or not at all. Period. But this video I saw was different. This one wasn’t about what I call cheating, it was about AI replacing artists. Let me elaborate.

They created an AI generated musician using software. It gave her a face and a name. Her name was Sadie Winter. They then used the software to create a song about a girl with self-esteem and confidence issues and how it affected her relationships. Within three minutes the AI produced such a song. Instruments, vocals, the works. The people making the video then took it to the streets. People thought Sadie Winter was a real person. When the folks doing the piece told them the story behind it, the people were incredulous. They could hardly believe it. I have to admit it was an amazing bit of technological greatness. I was blown away. Full of awe and wonder. But here’s where I take issue with the whole thing.

We are removing the human element out of the arts. Artistic expression is about as human as it gets. It’s a window to the very soul. It transcends language and cultural barriers. It’s about human experience and human connection. It’s global. It’s universal. Why do we want to mess with that? So big record corporations, producers, and content creators can buy some software and bypass the human factor to make money? If not money, then what? What’s the reason? Why would we want to do it?

I have mixed feelings about AI. I suppose that it can be a valuable tool in many ways. Technological advances in computers, the medical field, space exploration, teaching aids in classrooms, and much more. But as with everything else, there are those opportunists who will twist it into something ugly: another way to make money, to scam, fraud, coerce, and use it for criminal enterprise. Grandparents are being scammed out of life savings because an AI voice that sounds exactly like their grandchild calls and says they’re in trouble and need money. That’s only one example. Recently a news team did an experiment. The anchors listened to a reporter say something, a voiceover in a news piece. But it wasn’t them speaking. It was an AI generated voice. The anchors at the station couldn’t tell the difference. Even the reporter who participated in the experiment said it sounded exactly like her. Does that scare you at all? Does it shock you? Well, it should. I was utterly stunned.

In the most recent strike in Hollywood, AI came up as an issue. Actors and writers sought contractual protections about AI replacing them in future productions. They can write stories using AI. They can duplicate voices using AI. What else will they be able to do? I can’t blame the writers and actors at all. They have reason to be concerned.

As a novelist and lover of the arts, I am vehemently opposed to it. It’s wrong. It’s indecent. There’s something truly creepy about it. And as I touched on, that’s only one of the many ways AI will affect humanity in the future. I think it’s a wake-up call. What do you think? Please feel free to comment below. Please give the blog a like and follow my page. I’d very much appreciate it. And as always, thank you for taking the time to read my post. Until next time…

Ray