AI Vegans

This term just popped up on my radar. It refers to someone who will not create with generative AI, or knowingly consume products made with generative AI. Good luck with that. Generative AI is the bacon bits of whatever it is that’s happening on the planet these days.

Already, there are tons of posts online with AI Vegans proudly declaring they’ll never use AI, which is ironic, considering that AI-generated art and music are the tofurky sausages and Beyond Burgers of the creative world. And there are, of course, tons of posts from generative AI users who not only love writing descriptive sentences (the term is “prompt,” Luke) but seem to delight in slipping some real pulled pork in with the seitan pulled pork and making your nephew’s girlfriend throw up at the table when it’s revealed that, “You just ate pork/just added an AI generated country song to your playlist."

I’m confusing myself with my own analogies.

I do know that I’d rather not sit around the table with fanatical vegans, or fanatical AI vegans, or fanatical meat eaters, or fanatical generative AI users. There’s quite enough fanaticism in the world these days.

There’s also already enough housing development country music out there that we don’t need to throw a data center on the campfire to make some more while we roast our vegan marshmallows.

While we’re around that campfire, will someone pull out an acoustic guitar and fumble through Blackbird? Or will people pull out their phones and play for everyone the latest thing they caused to exist using Suno? Or will everyone piss in lyric ideas and styles to create an AI-generated song that encapsulates an evening spent with friends fighting about politics, AI, veganism and why Ringo is better than Charlie Watts?

The conversations we should be having about AI need to move from hardline to nuanced. Because the reality is that generative AI isn’t going away. Human beings are genetically lazy and because too many economic resources have already been committed.

And the reality in the music world is that most professional studios have an AI guy or a Suno guy on staff already. There’s not only fully AI songs out there, there’s music composed in “collaboration” with AI or arranged using AI-generated parts. Lots and lots of it.

Here are some quick videos that might be of interest to you as you navigate your own positions and workflow regarding AI. I curated them a bit so you don’t waste your time because we’re genetically lazy, don’t you know.

A guy in a Bob Ross wig expounding on AI, delusions of grandeur, et al. Funny, with an undertone of horror.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN5rxyhDSxK/?igsh=a2E0c21rYTUxZ3Zj

This isn’t as much fun. In fact, it’s horror with a horror sauce, a side of horror, horror for a drink. Ya know what? Supersize the horror. But no bacon bits.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQhJ1BeEZgB/?igsh=MTNkOXpma2IxZWtycw==

This one is specific to music and quite cogent. <-- big word. sign of non-AI enhanced writing. I could, of course, also misspell something.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRDJYAZEnUk/?igsh=MWN6czZhbmhobmM5Mw==

The one to watch is this one, from Rick Beato. It’s about the deal made between Suno and Warner Music Group. It gives a glimpse into a potential future. It’s 7 minutes and worth your time.

https://youtu.be/ECLy6JnBdoY?si=8isiyeaup_caJYFu

"What do I think?" Luke says, even though no one asked him.

I think the point of life is to better one’s self. To improve one’s abilities and skills. To become kinder and more tolerant. To help the next generation of humans not be selfish dickheads. This has been the point of human existence since forever, and in 300,000 years, we still kind of suck at this, but I, for one, am trying. Dan, too.

My big problem with AI is that I don’t see how skills are improved by it. It’s nice to use it as a learning platform, but does composing a song with AI really improve one’s compositional skills? Or is it just about output? Suno is generating 7 million songs a day. Is that sculpting or is that shitting?

The question for me is, “Am I personally improved? Do I learn? Do I get better? Do I become better?”

I don’t know a better question to ask.

7 million songs a day. I’ll bet most of them are heard once, if that.

I wonder if in that scrum of people cranking out crap is a Prince? I would bet there is. I’ll bet that someone with talent and a killer work ethic, and a desire to do something different, is already on the horizon. I sure hope so.

I had an exchange with a guy on Threads a few weeks ago. He was calling himself a songwriter who uses AI. I asked him about his process. He inputs lyrics and some ideas and it spits out a song, and that’s it. No revision. No work. Pure laziness and delusion—this guy is in his thirties and he’s sure he’s the next big thing.

I’m thinking that if you weren’t putting in the hours of effort to make something of your talent and ideas before AI, I don’t see how AI is going to help you now. But I do see how if you’ve got a skillset developed by years of really working, AI is a useful development.

Someone who knows how to really cook can work wonders with a microwave and whatever is in the fridge. Someone who can’t cook and is all about pressing a button... well, enjoy your reheated tofurky.