A few weeks ago, an image of “swag Pope” went viral on the internet. It depicted Pope Francis wearing a fashionable white puffer coat, and people were amazed by it. However, it turned out to be an AI-generated image, just like the image of former President Donald Trump being arrested, which was also debunked as an AI-generated image.
Now, generative AI is moving beyond images and into audio, with some programs taking audio and translating it into text, and others generating audio from text prompts. While AI-generated music is not new, the latest example is particularly impressive.
Someone has created a new single from Drake called “Winter’s Cold.” The song sounds exactly like something Drake would create, from the instruments used to the beat timing to Drake’s rapping style. In fact, it would have been hard to tell that the song was AI-generated if you didn’t know beforehand. Along with the song, there is also some album art to go with it. It’s exciting to see what other possibilities this technology may bring in the future.
With generative AI now capable of creating music that sounds just like something our favorite artists would produce, the question arises of whether enjoying the music created by AI makes someone a bad fan. While some labels are already trying to have AI-generated songs removed, this could lead to legal battles between AI companies and artists in the future.
The music industry is just one of many that will be affected by artificial intelligence, and we can expect to see some weird developments in the future. Another example of the tension between AI companies and established businesses is Elon Musk’s recent threat to sue Microsoft, claiming that the company illegally used Twitter data to train its AI products. As AI continues to evolve and become more prevalent, we can expect to see more conflicts and challenges arise as companies try to adapt to this new technology.