“This Assault on Human Creativity Must Be Stopped”: Jon Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, and Others Take a Stand Against AI

With each passing month, AI technology appears to grow, creating practically anything the mind can conceive. And unlike the past, AI can produce a prompt in a matter of seconds. Just proving how far technology advanced over the last decade, many singers, performers, and musicians are concerned about the integration of technology into the entertainment industry. The concern seemed to reach the Artist Rights Alliance as the organization, supported by artists like Jon Bon Jovi, presented a letter warning about AI being an “assault on human creativity.”

Signed by over 200 artists like Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Wonder, the letter from the Artist Rights Alliance shared the concerns that many artists have when discussing AI. “Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing Al to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rights holders.” The letter continued, “When used irresponsibly, Al poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods. Some of the biggest and most powerful companies are, without permission, using our work to train Al models. These efforts are directly aimed at replacing the work of human artists with massive quantities of Al-created ‘sounds’ and ‘images’ that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.”

[RELATED: Jon Bon Jovi Reveals Serious Doubt Surrounding His Touring Future After “Major Surgery”]

Calling for developers to take action, the letter warned, “Al will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it.” The artists also believed, “This assault on human creativity must be stopped. We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”

Jon Bon Jovie And The Artist Rights Alliance Ask AI Developers To Take Pledge

While many artists shared their concerns and thoughts about the future, the Artist Rights Alliance also detailed the benefits. Seeing the advantages of AI, they explained, “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, Al has enormous potential to advance human creativity… in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”

Wanting to find the perfect balance between technology and human creativity, Bon Jovi and the other performers asked the developers to take a pledge. “We call on all AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to pledge they will not develop or deploy Al music-generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)