Sting is well aware of the growing trend of artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create music. Understandably, he’s not impressed and also concerned.
The former Police frontman told the BBC, “The building blocks of music belong to us, to human beings. That’s going to be a battle we all have to fight in the next couple of years: Defending our human capital against A.I.”
He elaborated on his thoughts and added, “It’s similar to the way I watch a movie with CGI. It doesn’t impress me at all. I get immediately bored when I see a computer-generated image. I imagine I will feel the same way about AI making music. Maybe for electronic dance music, it works. But for songs, you know, expressing emotions, I don’t think I will be moved by it.”
The use of A.I. in creative works is one of the reasons behind the current Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Per The New York Times, film and television writers are concerned about studios replacing writers with A.I.-generated scripts to cut costs. The outlet notes, “In essence, writers are asking the studios for guardrails against being replaced by A.I., having their work used to train A.I. or being hired to punch up A.I.-generated scripts at a fraction of their former pay rates.”
The WGA has been on strike since May 2. Many shows have shut down in solidarity of the WGA. The most notable programs include all major late-night talks shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and Last Week Tonight have also halted production. Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has also shut down.
