Nick Cave has opened up about the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) within music, saying that it is “unbelievably disturbing.”
In a new interview with The Australian, Cave discussed his fears about AI and its impact on the creative industries, sharing that he believes it will have a “humiliating effect” on them. “Its intent is to completely sidestep the sort of inconvenience of the artistic struggle, going straight to the commodity, which reflects on us, what we are, as human beings, which is just things that consume stuff. We don’t make things anymore. We just consume stuff. It’s frightening,” he said.
He continued: “I’m an enormously optimistic person about the world in general, but I think the demoralising effect or the humiliating effect that AI will have on us as a species, it will stop us caring about something like the artistic struggle that we will just accept what is fed to us through these things.”
The ‘Red Right Hand’ singer went on to say that he sees humans “becoming in awe of the banal”, and then went on to cite AI music generator Suno and labelled it as “utterly banal” with “no soul or spirit”. He then said that though services like Suno may be able to create “good” songs, he finds the concept “quite terrifying.”
“I find it all unbelievably disturbing. I’m not worried about my own job or something like that about being replaced or something. Just what it’s saying about us as human beings,” he concluded.
This is not the first time the singer has spoken out about AI. At the beginning of the year, Cave shared his opinion on ChatGPT and songwriting using artificial intelligence.
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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.
Responding to a fan named Mark who’d sent him lyrics to an algorithmically generated song, Cave wrote that “with all the love and respect in the world”, the track is “bullshit” and “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.
In March, Cave shared his thoughts on the AI-based platform, ChatGPT, and said that it should “fuck off and leave songwriting alone”.
“My objection is not with A.I. in general. For better or for worse, we are inextricably immersed in A.I.,” he told The New Yorker when asked if the platform could make us value creative artwork more.
“It is more a kind of sad, disappointed feeling that there are smart people out there that actually think the artistic act is so mundane that it can be replicated by a machine. I find that insulting.
In other news, Cave and The Bad Seeds recently shared ‘Long Dark Night’, the third single from their upcoming album ‘Wild God‘.
Set for release on August 30, the album will comprise 10 songs and see the band move between themes of convention and experimentation – introducing left-turns that heighten the rich imagery and emotive narratives created by the frontman.
Alongside Cave himself, Warren Ellis co-produced the album, and it was mixed by David Fridmann. You can pre-order ‘Wild God’ here.
The band are set to embark on a UK and EU tour later this autumn. Visit here to purchase tickets and check out a full list of tour dates below.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ 2024 tour dates are:
SEPTEMBER
24 – Oberhausen, Germany – Rudolf Weber ARENA
26 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
29 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
OCTOBER
2 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
3 – Stockholm, Sweden – Hovet
5 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
8 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena
10 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
11 – Krakow, Poland – TAURON Arena
13 – Budapest, Hungary – Papp László Sportaréna
15 – Zagreb, Croatia – Arena Zagreb
17 – Prague, Czechia – O2 arena
18 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle
20 – Milan, Italy – Milan Forum
22 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
24 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi
25 – Madrid, Spain – WiZink Center
27 – Lisbon, Portugal – MEO Arena
30 – Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis
NOVEMBER
2 – Leeds, UK – first direct arena
3 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
5 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
6 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
8 – London, UK – The O2
12 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
15 – Birmingham, UK – Resorts World Arena
17 – Paris, France – Accor Arena