Dr. Dre is all in on using AI in creating music.
The hip-hop legend discussed his use of AI to make beats and his criticism of those who don’t embrace the technology in a New York Times interview published Sunday.
Dre likened the utilization of artificial intelligence in music production to past advances in technology that have become commonplace tools today. The rapper and producer told a reporter that he recently had a conversation with people, and “They were against A.I. and I’m like, ‘OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.’ Or synthesizers, right? It’s a new tool for creativity. Some people are afraid of learning new things.”
Dre continued, “I’m embracing it. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with this.”
When asked if he was using AI while producing, Dre was forthcoming, saying he’s using it “as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did.”
AI isn’t a technology he sees as a threat, the Compton producer said. “I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” he declared.
Dre’s longtime partner Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, is also “very pro-A.I. in music creation,” according to the interview. “I don’t see the downside at all,” Iovine said. “There will be some crappy music. There’s crappy music now. In the studio, when gifted people have A.I., they’re going to make better records.”
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The opinion of the Beats headphones masterminds is by far unanimous among musicians. Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter recently talked about his view that the use of AI to create music is a shortcut that stunts the creative process.
Other musicians and bands, like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, are also dealing with AI clones of their music that add to the financial distress they face as well as the technology’s ability to create music with little effort and compete for streaming royalties.