John Lydon has shared his thoughts on AI warning that it “will ultimately make decisions for you, and that’s very dangerous”.
The Public Image Ltd frontman spoke about the recent developments in the technology in a new interview with The Guardian.
When asked about his views on the ever-increasing impact of AI on the arts, Lydon said: “Who’s in charge and who’s feeding the information and giving the guidelines to these artifices? What or where is the moral code? It has infiltrated young people’s minds now to the point of total domination. What will this create?”
He continued: “My advice is make small steps against this – and get that fucking Siri or whatever out of your house. It will ultimately make decisions for you, and that’s very dangerous.”
His comments come just days after Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones also criticised the use of artificial intelligence in songwriting.
Jones said: “I’m not against forward-thinking technology and how things are progressing, but I think art should come from people, I mean the basics of it anyway. I think art has always been somebody’s expression, a real person’s expression from a heart, from a head.”
He added: “If you’re going to start an idea, then a computer finishes it, I mean, it’s OK, but it’s just about algorithms and things like that.”
Earlier this year, Nick Cave also called ChatGPT and AI songwriting “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.
Recently, Sting said AI “doesn’t impress” him and that songwriters will have to defend “our human capital against AI”. Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, however, said “AI will change music forever” since others can “game the system” and “not going to spend 10,000 hours in a basement.”
In the film industry, James Cameron said he warned the world of AI’s rise in 1984. Christopher Nolan also shared his thoughts on the AI boom sweeping Hollywood right now, describing it as “terrifying”.
Meanwhile, Public Image Ltd will release their new album ‘End Of The World’ on August 11.
The record is dedicated to frontman Lydon‘s late wife Nora Forster, who died at the age of 80. She had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years and Lydon had been her full-time carer.
The band are also set to embark on a UK and European tour this autumn. You can purchase tickets here.