Defending the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music, during a joint New York Times interview with record executive Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre offered his take on the rise of the controversial technology.
Born Andre Young, the rapper-entrepreneur said “I don’t see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating.”
Stating that AI is akin to other music technologies used in the recording studio, the 61-year old added:
“I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI, 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. I’m embracing it. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with this.”
Admitting that he has used AI when producing music and emphasized that other artists are doing so as well, the California native said “Yes, I’m using it. Again, as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did,” he said, while Jimmy added: “So is Timbaland – another brilliant producer. By the way, there’s a lot of closet AI producers out there.”
With Madonna recently declaring the technology to be the “opposite of making art” in a conversation for Vogue Italia, AI continues to be a divisive topic in the music industry. Yet, in his July conversation with Billboard, Mick Jagger offered a different take, insisting that it was OK for people to experiment with AI in music as long as it sounds “original”.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Jason Persse