Music can thrive in the age of AI

The birth of ChatGPT raised a number of concerns about how large language models allow users to quickly subvert processes that once required human time, effort, passion, and understanding. And furthermore, the tech sector’s often stormy relationship with regulation and ethical oversight has left many fearful of a future in which artificial intelligence replaces humans at work and hinders human creativity.

While much of this alarm is well-founded, we should also consider the possibility that human creativity can flourish in the age of AI. In 2025, we will begin to see this manifest in our collective cultural response to technology. To examine how culture and creativity could adapt to the age of AI, we’ll use hip-hop as an example. It is one of the most lucrative forms of music ever invented and has already been influenced by great linguistic models. We’ve all heard AI-powered rap songs from popular artists and seen them go viral, easily being mistaken for authentic, original music. For example, during the recent rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, an AI-generated song called “One Shot” was released and was incorrectly attributed to Lamar. In 2025 we should expect more AI-generated fake music, especially driven by the social media circus where being louder and more provocative can attract the immediate attention of millions.

In 2025 we believe that creative engagement with AI will begin to take three different forms.

The first could be described as “total surrender”: not running away from technology, but trusting in the fact that artificial intelligence can create terabytes of music in minutes, much of it as enjoyable as the music made by our favorite artists. While this strategy will include leaving music creation in the hands of robots, the human-driven aspects of music culture will remain. For example, a human element lies in how AI music is selected (think successful DJs) and in a new industry of art critics and commentators. This is no different than the TikTok influencers currently driving the widespread popularity of relics in the arts and technology. Human-led discussion of AI products can be big business and will generate a culture of neo-influencers that compare and evaluate this progress.

A second strategy will involve an indirect adoption of artificial intelligence in the arts, where creativity becomes a healthy hybrid between human and machine. In the case of hip-hop, artists such as 50 Cent have recently communicated their love for AI-assisted interpretations of hip-hop classics (often done for humorous purposes). This is a model we’ll continue to see: AI-assisted reimaginings or remixes of classic songs. Furthermore, we can observe elaborations on this model: the growth of a battle rap scene driven by artificial intelligence algorithms trained on human artist data sets. Or maybe even rap duos composed of two members: a rapper and his AI-trained partner (with choruses also from a mix of human and AI singers).

This kind of Robo-Franken-Hip-Hop leaves a lot of room for clever compromise and could spawn entirely new musical subgenres. This will also have commercial implications: artists could be remunerated based on their training data, which could be an improvement over hip-hop business models of the past and present. The possibilities are as limited as the infinite combination of human ingenuity and computational power.

Finally, 2025 will formally usher in a great irony: AI art will foster a new appreciation for man-made classical relics. Because the volume of AI creations will quickly surpass human ones, highly prestigious human relics will become more valuable. For example, one of the messages that emerged from the celebration of 50 years of hip-hop was that society still lacks a general appreciation for the art form. Fewer than a dozen hip-hop artists or groups have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, very few of hip-hop’s founding groups are wealthy, as they built the art form during a time when it was not financially lucrative. Similar to how a retro technology industry has emerged that celebrates the simple devices of yesterday, we will see a renewed appreciation for the music of the analog era.

The rise of AI and related technologies will shed new light on original music created before its arrival. This will implore an appreciation for proto-hip-hop, which can translate into a lucrative industry around the preservation of original music and an associated valorization of artists. AI can aid in the origins of hip-hop, finally giving it the respect it has always deserved and a place among the high arts.

Human technology and art are two institutions that are defined by their ability to surprise us. Yes, the relationship between creativity and AI will be stormy for the foreseeable future, but 2025 will be a turning point where we begin to embrace greater possibilities. Maybe there is a creative light at the end of the technological tunnel, one where analog-era art forms like hip-hop can thrive in a land of great language models and whatever else the AI ​​era can offer. .