John Lennon’s son believes he would have embraced the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Director Steven Soderbergh has worked with the late musician’s estate on a new documentary, John Lennon: The Last Interview, which features a sit-down interview with the late Beatles legend and his wife Yoko Ono recorded at his home just hours before he was shot dead in 1980, and while he largely used archive visuals to bring the audio recording to life, the filmmaker faced criticism when it was revealed he had also used AI in the film.
However, he stressed the technology was used for “thematic surrealism”, rather than to resurrect the singer, and he did so with the blessing of Sean Lennon, who believed the Imagine hitmaker would have been very interested in AI.
He told Deadline: “Here’s what I do know. I asked Sean, ‘What do you think your dad’s take on this tech would’ve been?’ And he said, ‘Oh, he would’ve wanted to engage.’
“He loved all new technology. All The Beatles did. He would want to play with it just to see what it could do. He goes, ‘That was the way he was.’
“How he would’ve felt about it ultimately, we’ll never know, but he said he would’ve wanted to play with it.”
Soderbergh can understand why people had concerns when it was first revealed he’d use AI in the documentary, but he hopes people are ultimately satisfied.
He said: “There’s a way of using AI in which your intention is to fool somebody or manipulate them, to create an image that you want them to think is real. And then there’s a use, which is what we’re doing in the documentary, where it’s obvious that it is AI and that it is being used essentially in the way that you would use VFX or CGI or any sort of non-photographic technology…
“I think people, when they heard about this project and that I was using AI tech, jumped to the absolute worst conclusion, which is, ‘He’s going to try and bring John Lennon back to life.’ And all I can say is, have we met? Do I look like somebody that would do that? So it’s a little hard to talk about also because I feel once you’ve seen the movie, you go, ‘Oh, of course.’ …
“My moral obligation to myself and to Sean and Yoko and to the audience is the best version of this film, period. And we were able — luckily, through good timing — to get our hands on some tools that I know resulted in the best version of this film.”
In 2023, surviving Beatles Sir Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney used groundbreaking technology to restore John’s vocals from a demo he recorded in order to ‘reunite’ the band – which also included the late George Harrison – one last time on Now And Then.
However, there was confusion by some over whether John had been replaced by artificial intelligence, which drummer Ringo later clarified.
Ringo told AARP: “There were terrible rumours that it’s not John, it’s AI, whatever [rubbish] people said.
“Paul and I would not have done that. It’s a beautiful song and a nice way to finally close that door.
“It’s not down to AI.
“It’s not like we’re pretending anything. That is actually John’s voice, Paul’s voice and bass playing, George [Harrison] on rhythm guitar and me on drums.”
And Paul admitted he questioned himself throughout the process about whether or not they should be doing it.
He told MOJO magazine: “It’s strange when you think about it. There’s him in his little apartment in New York City banging away at his piano doing a little demo, and … our team has restored it so now it’s a crystal clear, beautiful vocal. How much would John have liked that?! He would have loved that.”
Macca asked himself: “Is it a bit inferior? Is it something we shouldn’t do? Am I pushing the envelope too far? But every time I thought like that, I thought, Wait a minute, let’s say I had a chance to ask John, ‘Hey John, would you like us to finish this last song of yours?’ I’m telling you, I know the answer would have been… ‘Yeah.’ “