The Legal Consequences Of AI

Kevin Baur | Editor

How would you react if somebody used your likeness in some form of art without your permission? How would you feel if they profited off of it? This is a problem that many people have tangled with over the years, and it is about to get a lot more complex.

You may have recently seen a number of songs that have been making their way around the internet. These songs were produced through AI, which means that artificial intelligence’s growing reign will touch the music industry just as it will touch so many others.

The AI-generated song I am talking about in this article is called “Heart on My Sleeve,” and it was created by an artist named Ghostwriter. The song went viral, and the reason it drew so much attention is likely because it sounds just like a Drake song.

When I say this song sounds like Drake, I don’t just mean that it is similar to his music. I mean that the AI-generated lyrics have the same voice as Drake, and it is scary good. If you listened to the song without knowing it was made by AI, you would think it was a real Drake song.

This situation highlights a problem that many artists are certain to experience in the future. Is it ok to use an AI-generated version of someone’s voice without their permission? The law leaves this relatively ambiguous because a voice can not technically be copyrighted.

The song has already been removed from multiple streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, which suggests that there may be some kind of legal retaliation inbound. This situation may set a precedent for many future cases, as the use of AI grows every day.