Nick Cave has blasted song generator platforms as a musician’s “final, most soul-destroying humiliation”.
The 69-year-old singer-songwriter previously insisted artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT should “f*** off and leave songwriting alone”, and he has now attacked AI again, insisting song generator platforms “mock creation itself by rendering humanity unnecessary”.
In a new post on his blog The Red Hand Files, he wrote: “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.
“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.”
Nick also told how he believes AI might “save the world, annihilate it, or do something in between”, but admitted he isn’t sure.
He added: “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.”
While The Bad Seeds frontman has long been a vocal critic of artificial intelligence, previously describing the technology as “unbelievably disturbing” and warning of a “humiliating effect” on the creative industries, he confessed his view had changed “to some extent” after seeing an AI-powered video made to mark the 40th anniversary of his song Tupelo.
He said: “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.”
The video he was referring to was created by filmmaker Andrew Dominik, 59, and used AI to animate still archival images.