John Oates of Hall & Oates is wary of the future of artificial intelligence in the music industry.
“Look at the rise of AI, where AI could potentially replace songwriters and artists,” Oates told Fox News Digital. “The idea is that there could be a new… David Bowie album, where an AI could infer David Bowie’s voice and sample his music from his entire career and write a new David Bowie song that a record company could release.”
He added, “The younger generation may not know. In fact, they may not even know that he passed away. This is a crazy future, a crazy, scary world that we’re heading towards. So there’s a lot going on and we have to pay attention.”
Oates said he has already taken steps to protect his solo work and the work he did with Daryl Hall as Hall & Oates.
John Oates told Fox Digital that AI is “something to watch” as it continues to impact industries like music and entertainment. (Timothy Norris/Getty Images, courtesy of the Recording Academy)
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“I’ve been thinking about this for the past few years and have been working hard to protect my personal and Hall & Oates’ intellectual property rights. It’s not easy and I’ve encountered many obstacles along the way, but yes, it’s very important to do so and I understand that very well,” he said.
The musician also praised a bill recently passed in Tennessee called “Elvis’s Law” to protect the singer’s vocal likeness.
Watch: John Oates says people need to ‘pay attention’ to AI
According to the Associated Press, the bill would also create new civil actions that could result in liability for publishing or performing an individual’s voice without permission, or for using technology to create an artist’s name, photo, voice or likeness without proper authorization.
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“It’s great that Tennessee is trying to lead the way. The music industry is one of the major industries in Tennessee, so it makes perfect sense,” Oates said.
Oates praised the Tennessee Elvis Band, saying, “It’s great that Tennessee is trying to lead the way. The music industry is one of the major industries in Tennessee, so it makes perfect sense.” (Scott Legato/Getty Images)
The “You Make My Dreams” singer admitted that he has experimented with AI, but he wasn’t happy with the results.
“I used AI to make videos. I had a song called ‘Too Late to Break Your Fall’ that I released last year. I made videos for all my digital releases, but for that song I didn’t have a concept,” he said.
Video: John Oates admits he protected his work from AI during AI experiments
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“So we gave it to our graphics guy to use AI to generate an image for the song. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the song at all. To me it was just funny and interesting to see what would happen.”
While Oates believes AI has some long-term benefits, he remains hesitant.
The 76-year-old admitted that he tried out AI for a music video concept but wasn’t too impressed: “I didn’t think it had anything to do with the song. It was just funny to me, but it was interesting to see what would happen.” (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
“I think the good thing is, it depends on your perspective and who you are and where you are. The good thing is it opens up new generations and future generations to make new music in new ways that maybe they never expected,” he said.
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“No one knows what it’s actually going to bring,” he continued. “The good thing about the digital revolution is that everyone’s voice is now heard. The bad thing about it is that everyone’s voice is now heard.”
