Kelly Clarkson has publicly voiced support for artificial intelligence, yet she contends that AI-generated artists should have their own chart of hits. The singer behind “I’d Be Lyin’” was the latest guest on Las Culturistas, the podcast hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, where she defended this idea during the I Don’t Think So Honey segment. Stereogum covers the remarks.
“I love AI,” Clarkson declares, noting that she also uses it in an artistic capacity. Her concern arises when so-called “AI artists” go head-to-head with human musicians on the Billboard charts. “I think there should be a separate list,” she explains. For Clarkson, AI can be “really interesting and creative” and empower people to do things they previously couldn’t, but it shouldn’t compete with humans. “It’s like having the Olympics and robots competing against humans,” she says.
Clarkson emphasizes that she doesn’t want to shut the door on this technology. “I think everything can be creative,” she says, though she also believes it’s necessary to set some rules to prevent AI from erasing the human element in music. “There has to be regulation, respect, and room for everything. There’s space for all, and you can’t lose the human touch. I think that would be a pity.”
The performer of “Since U Been Gone,” a song that AI could never write, isn’t alone in voicing a favorable stance toward using AI in music. Will.i.am has long advocated for its creative applications and has developed projects like RAiDiO.FYI. Kanye West has also incorporated AI into his music-making process. In fact, a producer who sued West this year claims to have worked with AI vocal on “Bully,” though Kanye himself asserted upon the album’s release that it contained no AI.
Clarkson concludes by arguing that there is room for both modes of creation, but she insists that “you can’t lose the human element.” Her remarks can be heard around the 1:22:34 mark of Las Culturistas.
