Artificial intelligence is slowly but surely creeping into the music world. From AI-generated music videos to AI-generated voices from beyond the grave like Chester Bennington, it's all progressing pretty quickly… and Corey Taylor is not into it.
In an interview with Kerrang! Radio, Taylor stated in no uncertain terms that he feels AI is a replacement for talent and that his thoughts are an extension of what he thinks about programs like ProTools and Autotune.
"I don't care for any of that crap, dude, to be honest," said Taylor. "I don't know what people are trying to prove. Are they trying to prove that computers can do things just as good as people? Because if so, then what's the point?"
"It's an even worse example of technology taking over for talent than what I've been ranting about for years with ProTools and tuning and using the same sounds. And people keep going, 'Oh, isn't it cool?' I'm, like, no, it's not cool. What are you — out of your mind?"
"What? Suddenly now we have no talent? The only thing that we're gonna get that sounds cool and new is from something that doesn't even exist? Screw you, man!"
He later added: "Every time people get stoked in front of me about AI, I go, 'You're not talking to the right person. You need to go over that way and talk to a dipshit who doesn't care.' 'Cause I hate it. I can't stand it."
On one hand, I get it – Taylor wants honesty in his music and wants it to come from the heart. A real, human heart. On the flip side, ProTools and Autotune have become interesting tools that made new forms of music possible. The optimist in me wants the latter to be true.
As for that AI-generated Bennington voice, Taylor said in a recent interview with Loudwire Nights that he's outright afraid of the power of AI.
"It's cheap shit. I don't know what it is about human beings — they keep fucking opening Pandora's box for God's sake. It's scary, dude. I thought deep fake was bad and now here comes AI and all you do is teach this thing to do this or you type this thing to do that and all of a sudden it's just there.
"How much more do we want to lessen — and I mean lessen as in detract from — what we actually do as human beings? How much more do we want to take away from our own creativity? How much more do we want to make reality completely fucking pointless or better yet, how much do we completely want to devalue true talent, true creativity, true hard work, true persistence and heart to the point now that people are going to question whether it's you or not. It's so fucking ridiculous."
