Chris Lake on Threat of AI: “I Think We Can Create Things a Computer Absolutely Cannot”

As artificial intelligence continues to digs its unregulated claws into the music industry, Chris Lake has opened up about its creative pitfalls.

In 2023, the interrelationship between generative AI and the music it produces is still nascent. But the vast majority of today's artists certainly see the writing on the wall—73% of respondents of a recent survey conducted by Bedroom Producers Blog indicated they believe AI could soon replace the role of human producers.

While AI doesn't yet pose an existential threat to artists, many fear a grim future is drawing nigh. Machine learning-powered creation platforms like Google's mighty MusicLM are now firmly entrenched as the EDM community's de facto supervillains, and its producers its antiheroes.

Lake, one of the world's leading house music producers, took to social media to bemoan AI's potential to precipitate a loss of artistic individuality.

"Could this be the era that forces creators into a more 'pure' form of creativity that stays ahead of the technology curve through the magic of human ingenuity (something I REALLY hope AI will never be able to replicate)," he wrote.

Critics argue that a heavy reliance on AI may result in a homogenization of music, where tracks become formulaic and devoid of originality. Whether or not the technology will ever be able to fully capture the nuances of natural human expression remains to be seen, but many producers fear that the swelling accessibility of AI production tools might lead to a deluge of derivative music, which would saturate the market and make it harder for genuinely talented producers to stand out.

"I do think AI should be taken seriously in the music industry," Lake continues, "but I also am using this as a reminder (and I'm writing this to hopefully encourage other creatives to consider this thought too) that if we focus on trying new ideas (this is getting harder and harder, but I don't think creating should just be easy), I think we can create things a computer absolutely cannot, and that is where all our energies should go towards."

You can read Lake's full thread below.

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