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Former The Police frontman Sting has insisted he does not “feel any competition” from artificial intelligence when creating music.
The 74-year-old noted that while the technology can construct a catchy pop song, it lacks the lived experience of a human artist.
He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “I think AI can make perfectly serviceable pop music that you might hear in a railway station or a hotel lobby, and you can hear it, but would you listen to it?
“Because AI has never had its heart broken, it doesn’t have a story, it has a borrowed story, so you’re not really hearing a song.
“So, in that sense, I don’t feel any competition so far, people still want to come and see live concerts, they want to see a human being, a vulnerable human being who can make mistakes and not a machine that is perfect.”
However, Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, cautioned that there is a “danger right now with AI potentially destroying the labour economy”, adding that “we’re all in that danger”.
Sting believes that the labour economy faces a threat from AI (Getty)
The artist, whose musical The Last Ship arrives on the West End from next week, is among several musicians to voice opinions on AI.
David Bowie producer Tony Visconti told the Press Association earlier this month that the late star would have experimented with the tools, but called them “disgusting”, while dance producer Nia Archives said AI music “won’t last”.
She said in July: “I don’t know if AI music will last to be honest with you, I think it’s quite like a fleeting technology moment.”
By contrast, 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry urged artists in May to “embrace” AI.
She said: “To me, it’s just another tool that has shown up to make people’s life easier in some way.
“I said earlier, like microwaves, when microwaves showed up, everybody thought it was the end of making dinner, and mums were just going to throw it in there, and poof, we were going to be in the Jetsons with this powder that turns into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it’s not.
“It’s just this is the future, we have to embrace it, because if we try to run from the future, then we’re running from solution.”
Linda Perry has encouraged artists to ‘embrace’ AI (Getty)
Alongside The Police, Sting achieved five UK number one singles — including “Message In A Bottle”, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Every Breath You Take” — and six UK number one albums.
His solo career, launched in 1985, brought a further three UK top 10 singles and three UK number one albums.