I’m a fan of Steven Wilson (he’s been described as the best UK musician that nobody has heard of!). He recently posted a lament about the AI threat to human creativity, a sentiment surely on the minds of many reading this post today.
I thought I would post his heartfelt concern and add my own commentary about the future of human creativity in the AI Era. Here is Steven’s post:
Steven Wilson
“For the last few years, when I’ve been asked in interviews about the future of music, I’ve talked about a scenario I fully expect to happen whereby musicians wouldn’t be needed anymore, and neither would pre-recorded tracks.
“Music will be made in real-time for listeners by artificial intelligence depending on their requirements at that moment. You will choose the singer that you want to sing the song for you (Freddie Mercury, Aretha Franklin, John Lennon, whoever), the subject matter you want them to sing about, and the musical genre. And it will generate that piece of music for you in real time, at which point you can choose to save it away for a future listen, share it with your friends, or erase it.
“For me, things just took a big step further in that direction with several artificial intelligence-created Steven Wilson tracks that have been brought to my attention. I don’t know who created them or what their motivation was, but even I really struggle to hear that it’s not me singing these songs.
“No matter what I might think about the quality of the music, this is uncanny, almost surreal. We’re in the midst of a seismic change in the way music is made and how people engage with it. Do the majority even care that they aren’t listening to a human being? The future bites indeed.”
Does the future bite?
Of course, Steven Wilson is correct, and this on-demand custom content will be here sooner rather than later. What does this imply for the future of human creativity?
I recently went hiking with an AI / innovation expert, and we had an intense conversation about this topic.
We observed that everything we cherish most in life comes from a human. Every book. Every album. Every letter. Every crayon picture from our kids. A piece of furniture only becomes an heirloom if it’s attached to the story of a person.
Sure, I’m curious to hear an AI song that sounds like Steven Wilson. But that would be little more than a carnival sideshow, even if I like the song.
Nothing will replace my excitement when I discover a new (true) Steven Wilson album. I will listen to that album over and over. The best tracks will go on my “liked” list to become part of my forever playlist. I’ve never seen him in concert, but I look forward to that day because I have an emotional connection to him as a human being and his art.
Connecting this to you
This point about the durability of human creativity also holds true for the business world. AI will replace many skills and many jobs, no question. But the emotional connection to actual people will endure. In fact, it might be the only defense we have.
And yet, Steven still has a job because he’s put in the work to hone his craft and form an emotional connection with people who support his career. He is relevant because he is known, trusted and loved.
Even in a music industry completely overturned by technology, thousands of people still have thriving careers if they mean something to others.
The only defense he has against AI is that he is known. The only defense YOU have is whether you are known. You can’t be a commodity and survive the future.
I face the same threat as Steven. AI can write blog posts and books in my voice. But who cares? It’s not me. People care about me. They look forward to what I produce because it comes from my human mind and my heart, just like Steven’s music.
This is the crossroad for you. Are you known? Does your human contribution matter, or will you be like the half of musicians who lost their jobs in the 1980s because they were a replaceable commodity?
Being competent means almost nothing right now. Competent is a commodity. You must be great, and you must be known.
This means working on your personal brand. More than working on it … committing to it. It’s not a project — it’s a lifestyle.
A new eco-system for human creativity
Before AI, the closest thing we had to mysterious non-human music was Daft Punk, the French techno band. They appear and perform in robot costumes. Are they real? Do humans really make the music? I don’t care. I like their music.
The same will go for AI productions. AI-created songs, films, and art movements will Daft-Punk their way onto our playlists. But Mick Jagger, Taylor Swift, and the relatively unknown but beloved Steven Wilson won’t be replaced because they mean something to us.
Even more exciting, new artists will carry the creative flag forward, passionately and uniquely explaining their human experience through art. No AI bot is going to growl, “Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run,” and make me care about it.
AI and humans will co-exist in the artistic space because all beauty can find an audience.
Throughout history, every creative has had to rise above the noise and become known. Same today. There’s just more noise to overcome.
Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram
Top and bottom illustrations courtesy MidJourney
Photo of Steven Wilson appeared, unattributed, on his Instagram account.