Nick Cave on artificial intelligence, song generation platforms, and the distinction between the art and the artist:
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. 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.
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.
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.