How The Latest AI-Generated Copyright Loss Could Add Friction To Music And Technology’s Complicated Relationship
ForbesFeb 28, 2023
A viral artificial intelligence (AI) song that replicates the voices of Drake and The Weeknd, called "Heart on My Sleeve," has been pulled from streaming platforms such as YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer, and TikTok following a complaint from music label Universal Music Group (UMG).
The song, created and released by TikTok user Gostwriter977, was viewed 8M times on the TikTok account, 18.9M times on Twitter, and streamed hundreds of thousands of times on the music streaming apps Spotify and Apple Music.
The rapid onset of AI has led to technological progress far outpacing the implementation of legal and moral codes. While the corporate music industry has historically lagged behind technological advancement, there are strong arguments for protecting artists' rights to their own voices. Questions surrounding who can copyright novel, AI-generated music should also be answered to protect artists who wish to mix human creativity with computer-generated songs.
Though no one knows exactly which laws should be implemented, AI-generated voices are far more dangerous than fake songs gaining traction online. For example, as recently seen in Arizona, scammers can also mimic regular peoples' voices to then make it seem like they'd been kidnapped and ask for ransom payments. If this is where AI technology is heading, the world needs to seriously consider the worst possible outcomes of its advancement when writing legislation.