A fan sent singer Nick Cave a song written via ChatGPT “ in the style of Nick Cave “. For the singer, these lyrics are grotesque.
Pseudo-poems written by ChatGPT, cooking recipes, press articles… and songs? A fan of blues singer Nick Cave asked the AI developed by OpenAI to produce lyrics “ in the style of Nick Cave “. Then he sent it directly to her.
In these lyrics, we find verses such as: I am the sinner, I am the saint / I am the darkness, I am the light / I am the hunter, I am the prey / I am the devil, I am the savior. »
As spotted The Guardianthe singer spoke about it in the last edition of his newsletterbroadcast Monday, January 16, 2023. And, he does not mince his words: “ With all the love and respect in the world, this song is crap, a grotesque parody of what it’s like to be human, and, well, I really don’t like it. »
“The apocalypse is on its way. This song sucks. »
Nick Cave indicates in his newsletter that this fan is not the first to send him a song produced via ChatGPT. The singer explains that he does not feel the same enthusiasm for this technology – or at least this use applied to art. It only results in a vulgar parody of a song, he explains, because the process is removed from all that is the essence of music.
” Writing a good song is not mimicry, nor copying, nor pastiche, it’s the opposite. It is an act of self-murder, which destroys all that one has striven to produce in the past. It is these dangerous, breathtaking deviations that catapult the artist beyond the limits of what he or she recognizes as their known self. »
” This is part of the genuine creative struggle, which precedes the invention of a unique text with real value; it is the breathless confrontation with its vulnerability, its danger, its smallness, in the face of a feeling of sudden and shocking discovery; it is the redemptive artistic act that stirs the heart of the listener, where he recognizes, in the workings of the song, his own experience, his own struggle, his own suffering. »
Nick Cave worries about the headlong rush of the AIs. Will this lead us to a utopian future or a dystopian future? He wonders about it and answers: Judging by this song ‘in the style of Nick Cave’, it doesn’t look good (…). The apocalypse is on its way. This song sucks “, he writes.
Many artists are speaking out against and against the immoderate use of this kind of artificial intelligence in the artistic field. The same debate is very intense on the side of illustration and painting, where a movement of artists has consolidated to recall the working conditions of these professions and their human, social and cultural importance.
Build the future of Numerama with us by answering these questions!
