Nick Cave says AI song generators are “indicators of this nascent technology’s demonic potential”
Nick Cave has hit out at AI yet again arguing song generators are “indicators of this nascent technology’s demonic potential”.
The musician has been a vocal critic of artificial intelligence, calling it “unbelievably disturbing” and saying that he believes it will have a “humiliating effect” on the creative industries.
He’s also previously shared his thoughts on the AI-based platform ChatGPT, saying that it should “fuck off and leave songwriting alone” and that he feels “sad” and “disppointed” that “there are smart people out there that actually think the artistic act is so mundane that it can be replicated by a machine.”
Before that, he revealed on his blog The Red Hand Files that he’s received numerous submissions from his fans, of song lyrics written “in the style of Nick Cave” on ChatGPT. The singer wasn’t inspired by the results, calling it “bullshit” and “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.
Now, in a new post on his The Red Hand Files when asked by one fan where he stood on AI, he replied: “Artificial Intelligence, Catherine, may save the world, annihilate it, or do something in between. I don’t know. But song generator platforms are, in my view, indicators of this nascent technology’s demonic potential to hollow out human endeavour and sever our connection to the divine.
“They mock creation itself by rendering humanity unnecessary, taking the fruits of human striving and reducing them to mere products. It is, perhaps, our final, most soul-destroying humiliation.”
When asked whether art can be separated by the artist by another fan, Cave replied: “Nuno, we cannot separate the art from the artists, for they are as inseparable as the waves from the sea they rise from. That may be an uncomfortable truth for some but, for me, the matter was settled. Until now.
“With the advent of song generation platforms, the thorny issue has been upended. At last, the artist can be separated from the art. Not just that, the artist – that flawed, messy, broken, woeful, joyful problem – can be removed from the equation altogether, like so much dross.”
Taking aim at the AI song generator Suno, he went on: “Suno, the Great Cancellator, which has never loved or laughed or grieved, never experienced joy or loss or heartbreak, never felt boredom or its adjacent epiphany, produces an imitation of the soul – a song – in fifteen seconds flat. This is an affront to any songwriter who has lived and struggled in this world and earned the right to create a song.”
He concluded: “For those eager to rid the world of problematic artists – for these censorious forces remain persistent – it is surely cause for celebration, as these platforms promise to rid the world of artists altogether.”
Despite his current feelings, Cave released a video using the technology to mark the 40th anniversary of The Bad Seeds‘ ‘Tupelo’ last year.
The track, which Cave notes he has performed “at nearly every Bad Seeds concert since it was first written”, describes the birth of Elvis Presley during a heavy storm in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Upon watching the video, made as a gift by filmmaker Andrew Dominik, Cave said at the time he “found it to be an extraordinarily profound interpretation of the song – a soulful, moving, and entirely original retelling of ‘Tupelo’, rich in mythos and a touching tribute to the great Elvis Presley, as well as to the song itself.”
He added that the AI-animated photographs of Presley “had an uncanny quality, as if he had been raised from the dead, and the crucifixion-resurrection images at the end were both shocking and deeply affecting.”
“As I watched Andrew’s surreal little film, I felt my view of AI as an artistic device soften. To some extent, my mind was changed,” he wrote.
Elsewhere, he recently announced a North American tour for 2027 that will see him answer questions from fans and perform stripped-back versions of his songs on the piano.
Tickets for the new ‘Conversations’ tour go on general sale at 10am local time on Friday (November 13) here. A presale begins at 10am local time on Wednesday (November 11) and runs until 10pm on Thursday (November 12). Fans can register for presale access here.
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