Dr. Dre has defended the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music.
In a joint interview with record executive Jimmy Iovine for The New York Times published on Sunday, the rapper-entrepreneur offered his take on the rise of the controversial technology.
“I don’t see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” he began.
Dre, real name Andre Young, went on to argue that AI is akin to other music technologies used in the recording studio.
“I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI, and I’m like, ‘OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.’ Or synthesizers, right?'” the 61-year-old stated. “It’s a new tool for creativity. Some people are afraid of learning new things. I’m embracing it. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with this.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Dre confirmed he has used AI when producing music and emphasised that other artists are doing so too.
“Yes, I’m using it. Again, as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did,” he said, while Jimmy added: “So is Timbaland – another brilliant producer. By the way, there’s a lot of closet AI producers out there.”
AI continues to be a divisive topic in the music industry, with Madonna recently declaring the technology to be the “opposite of making art” in a conversation for Vogue Italia.
Yet, Mick Jagger offered a different take in a chat for Billboard in July, insisting that it was OK for people to experiment with AI in music as long as it sounds “original”.
