John Oates, of Hall & Oates, is wary of the future represented by artificial intelligence in the music industry.
“Look at what’s coming in with AI, the possibility that AI is going to be replacing songwriters and artists for that matter,” Oates told Fox News Digital. “The idea that there could be a new… David Bowie album. AI could take David Bowie’s voice and extrapolate and sample his music for his entire career and write new David Bowie songs, and the record company could put it out.”
He added, “A younger generation might not even know. They might not even know he’s dead for that matter. It’s a crazy future, and it’s a crazy, scary world that we’re kind of leaning toward. So there’s a lot going on and you have to pay attention.”
Oates said he’s already taken steps to protect his own solo work and the work he’s done with Daryl Hall as part of Hall & Oates.
John Oates told Fox Digital “you have to pay attention” to AI as it continues to impact industries like music and entertainment. (Timothy Norris/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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“I’ve been thinking about it for a few years now and working very hard to protect the intellectual property that is me personally, and Hall & Oates. It’s not easy. Lots of stumbling blocks along the way, but, yeah, very important to do that and, I’m very aware of it,” he said.
The musician also praised the recent bill that passed in Tennessee to protect singers’ voice likenesses, dubbed the ELVIS Act.
WATCH: John Oates says people need to ‘pay attention’ to AI
The bill also promises to create a new civil action by which people can be held liable if they publish or perform an individual’s voice without permission as well as use a technology to produce an artist’s name, photographs, voice or likeness without the proper authorization, according to The Associated Press.
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“It’s great that Tennessee is trying to lead the way, and it makes perfect sense because the state of Tennessee, the music business is one of its main businesses,” Oates said.
Oates praised Tennessee’s ELVIS act, saying, “It’s great that Tennessee is trying to lead the way, and it makes perfect sense because the state of Tennessee, the music business is one of its main businesses.” (Scott Legato/Getty Images)
The “You Make My Dreams” singer admitted he has experimented with AI, but wasn’t thrilled by the results.
“I did use AI to make a video for me. I had a song called, ‘Too Late to Break Your Fall,’ which I released last year. I was doing videos for all my digital releases, and I just didn’t have a concept for that particular song,” he said.
WATCH: John Oates admits to protecting his work from AI while experimenting with it
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“So, we threw it out there to a graphic guy who used AI to generate images for this particular song. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the song at all. To me, it was just funny, but it was an interesting thing to do to see what happened.”
Oates does see some benefits in the long run with AI but remains hesitant.
The 76-year-old admitted he tried AI for a music video concept but wasn’t too impressed. “I didn’t think it had anything to do with the song at all. To me it was just funny, but it was an interesting thing to do to see what happened.” (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
“I think the positive is going to be it depends on your point of view and who you are and where you are. I think the positive thing is it’s going to enable, a new generation and future generations to create new music in new ways that I don’t think is, I think is probably unforeseen,” he said.
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“Who knows what it’s really going to do?” he continued. “The good thing about the digital revolution was that everyone could be heard. The bad thing is that everyone could be heard.”