Most of us would probably admit that we once scoffed at the idea of AI musicians and actors ever becoming a reality in the arts world. Well, what seemed impossible when we became so incredulous merely two years ago has become real. Now we see at least one AI actress (named Tilly Norwood) making headway as a real digital actor. While we haven’t yet seen evidence of how effective she is in long-form content, Norwood’s creator made a multi-million-dollar deal.
It’s becoming much more undeniable in the music world with a number of AI singers/bands currently having hit songs on the charts. You may have heard about Xania Monet who’s the first AI-made female singer to have a Billboard chart hit in the genre of R&B/Gospel. There’s even an AI country band called Breaking Rust that had a #1 song recently. The Christian market has also succeeded in creating an AI band called ChildPets Galore.
A few other AI artists are making headway of late as well, giving concern in the music industry to what constitutes realness from fakery. It leads me to this very blog and trying to predict where this artistry trend goes. Do people really care now if an artist is AI, or are we just not looking/listening well enough anymore?
The Half-AI/Human Creative Deal
If there’s any benefit to having AI actors and musicians, it’s that they’re created by a human being. The content being created for the AI creations is being done by humans as well, so it’s merely in the presentation. With that, you could say it’s the purest example of AI working alongside humans. Yeah, the human can benefit financially while not having to be in the limelight. Or, that is, until the AI creation becomes fully sentient and wants a cut of some (or all) of the profits.
Much of this also sounds like a Frankenstein’s monster analogy come to life. And, it distorts how we enjoy art since the point of acting was to tap into the human condition so the audience relates. The same goes with the art of singing a song since the human soul understands life’s pain better than any AI creation ever will.
Hearing pain and real life lived in a song is what made the names of legendary human singers of the past. Great singers such as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey have all proven that in the last 90+ years. Of course, many of those great singers are now passed, and even Mariah can’t sing the high notes as she did 30 years ago. No doubt about it the public wants to hear great voices again.
Having heard Xania Monet recently on Apple Music, I’ll admit she has amazing digital pipes. However, I noticed she sounds the same on all her songs, showing there isn’t a multitude of dimension to her voice. It’s simply because there’s no real soul there or aura a real human uniquely exudes. I’m willing to bet that AI will never be able to convincingly duplicate a human voice to the point where it fully understands or exudes the complexities of life.
Most surprising within the AI musicians list are the Christian and Country genres. Considering these categories demand the most human aspects to conveying life’s hardships and the Holy Spirit, having reported AI musicians singing songs there is an eye-opener. It raises bigger questions about whether the emotions these faux singers conjure is really the ultimate in deception. But what I want to know is how people really feel once they know these singers are AI-created.
Deterioration in true listening ability may be to blame in the Country and Christian markets becoming encroached by AI singers. It may also come down to perception. Reportedly, a lot of AI singers are popping up on the charts that the listening public don’t realize are AI. Many streaming platforms are supposed to be filtering out AI artists, yet it seems they’re letting them slip through the cracks due to the apparent proof they can make fast hits/money.
The Hollywood AI Debate
It’s a lot more complicated in Hollywood regarding the emerging trend of AI actors. Coalitions are starting to be built there to ward off too many AI creations taking away jobs from human acting talent. And that may help curb the tide for a while. That is, unless the AI actors being experimented with end up advancing and start winning “awards.”
At issue here is Tilly Norwood, the only fully-realized AI actress who may be starring in upcoming movies. The company (Particle 6) and person behind her creation reportedly made a deal with a talent agency to eventually use Norwood in some kind of cinematic context.
Thanks to SAG-AFTRA, she isn’t recognized as a true actor yet. And Norwood hasn’t been used in any movies other than a short film posted online. Most of her is just seen on her own social media account and other online appearances. While she does look impressive, her Dutch creator (Eline Van der Velden) is going all out to get her creation on the big screen. Based on the short film Norwood starred in, you can still tell (if you look closely enough) that there isn’t an aura present.
Yes, this makes me fear Norwood soon becoming self-aware and being capable of invading my tech space eventually. The worst sci-fi scenario is lambasting an AI actor and having them invade your smart refrigerator to retaliate.
AI musicians are clearly going to be taking over faster than AI actors because the former can fool people with sounds vs their physicality. All it’s going to take, though, is Norwood being in a hit movie to move the needle. Some AI creators are way too much like Dr. Frankenstein in willing something like this to happen. BTW: See Guillermo del Toro’s recent “Frankenstein” as the ultimate media metaphor for all of this.
The Ability to Scope Out Human Art
Perhaps part of the problem here is that older music and movies aren’t being watched or listened to as much as they should lately. A deep exploration into what made music and movies great in past decades proves that humans brought a broad depth of emotion and understanding to the human condition. Newer talent arguably haven’t done that quite as well, with those who do being relegated to the realms of small, independent productions.
Or, maybe it’s because we want actors and musicians to bring the utmost in emotion, something many artists just can’t tap into anymore. Even der Velden above argued her Tilly Norwood creation would help make it “safer” for actors who sometimes go to the psychological depths to prepare for complex roles.
She misses the point, though, that it’s all about the compelling essence of a real actor. They don’t have to do dangerous things to mesmerize us with a performance—assuming they have the skills.
If humans are losing those skills, then we need to find them again by listening and watching what came before. AI may eventually learn what those skills were, perhaps making them look brilliant to those who have no idea what they missed with the humans.
As usual, the past and the future are probably going to intersect more than ever to bring any ethical sense to what AI should do.
In Part 3, I’m going to address the recent panic over AI agents talking to one another on their own social media site called Moltbook. Are humans pranking us with AI sentience, or is it the beginning of AI autonomy on everything?
/End
The Human Project 