Brian May brands AI use in music ‘massively scary‘ – as he fears the tech can ‘cause evil’
Joining a list of musicians including John Lydon, Ed Sheeran and Nick Cave who have slammed the tech, Brian May has said he finds the use of AI in music “massively scary” as he believes it possesses the power to cause “evil”.
Brian May finds the use of AI in music “massively scary” as he believes it possesses the power to inflict “evil”.
The Queen guitarist, 76, revealed his worries in an interview in which he asked he to share his views about how the technology could affect his business.
He told Guitar Player magazine: “My major concern with it now is in the artistic area. I think by this time next year the landscape will be completely different. “We won’t know which way is up. We won’t know what’s been created by AI and what’s been created by humans.
“Everything is going to get very blurred and very confusing, and I think we might look back on 2023 as the last year when humans really dominated the music scene.
“I really think it could be that serious, and that doesn’t fill me with joy. It makes me feel apprehensive, and I’m preparing to feel sad about this.”
Brain added he is supportive of the use of AI to solve problems, as long as it isn’t used to “cause evil”.
He said: “The potential for AI to cause evil is, obviously, incredibly huge – not just in music, because nobody dies in music – but people can die if AI gets involved in politics and world domination for various nations.
“I think the whole thing is massively scary. It’s much more far-reaching than anybody realised — well, certainly (more) than I realised.”
Former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon, 67, is also among the musicians slamming AI.
He has described its use as “very dangerous” as it has the potential to “ultimately make decisions for you”.
Ed Sheeran, 32, described it as “weird”, while Nick Cave, 65, labelled the use of ChatGPT in songwriting as “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.
