The legacy of Randy Travis will go on forever and ever (amen) because he’s been the embodiment of country music for many, many years. If it’s often about drinking, breaking up, or losing a dog, Randy has sung about or lived through all of those things publicly. I guess it makes sense that he’d be part of the new frontier in music as it clashes with artificial intelligence. Case in point: His new song that was created with AI.
A lot of people are conflicted, as I am, about this AI-generated song because on one hand, it’s great to hear his familiar and comforting voice again… but on the other hand… is this use of AI going to be the beginning of a messy relationship between music, music fans, and artists?
I guess I’ll answer that question with another question: When is the last time a part of technology was created but WASN’T abused? Never. Never is the answer. So AI might be cool in some ways, but it’s going to be completely exploited, misused, and corrupted. Thinking about this more, I was reminded of cassette tapes. In the early 1990s I used my parents stereo system to record songs off the radio. I’d sit on the floor for hours listening to music, waiting for my favorites to come on, making a mixtape to listen to on long family trips to Florida. Cassettes, stereo recorders, both made with good intentions but abused by a nerdy high school freshman. That’s just one example of technology meant for good that was used in an unintentional way that might be considered hurtful or wrong. Artificial intelligence will be no different.
With that said, it’s remarkable how well they recreated Randy’s voice for this new song. But something about it doesn’t sit right with me. He never sang the song. It’s not his real voice. It’s nice that he gave approval and was involved, but I think this YouTuber has nailed part of the issue right on the head:
We’re in the wild west of AI which means a lot of things are going to be destroyed and people will be hurt on our way to find gold… and soon the robots will say I don’t need you anymore… while the anti-AI crowd will be saying… I told you so…
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 