Since nothing attracts clicks like KPop Demon Hunters, I thought I would use the movie to illustrate a point about AI.
Like many a KPDH fan, I’ve gone down the YouTube rabbit hole of “Golden” cover versions. Eventually, I found an “almost” heavy metal cover, which I quite enjoyed. Then when I read the comments, I discovered something interesting–this is an AI-generated performance.
But it’s not slop; it’s good. The question is why?
The obvious answer is that the AI cover is leveraging all the human brilliance that went into creating an insanely-catchy, all-conquering, likely-Oscar-winning hit (shoutout to EJAE!).
But the less obvious answer is that the person who created the AI cover is also an artist. Here is that person’s note on their artistic process:
Phase 1: The Blueprint
You can’t just upload a copyrighted song to an AI platform (thanks, Content ID). So, the first step was to recreate the track by singing, humming, or using MIDI for the melody. The purpose was to ensure the melody came out exactly as I wanted and as close as possible to the original song, while creating a ‘clean’ guide track for the AI.
Phase 2: Assembling the “Talent”
The Director:
That’s me. A former musician (saxophonist) and musical director for campus shows (before COVID ruined it all). I’ve gone from directing humans who need coffee breaks to directing algorithms that just need more processing power.
The Vocalist:
I recorded my own raw vocals or just humming,
Then, an AI vocalist was trained on my voice—not the original artist’s. After the AI learned my unique vocal stylings, I had to force-feed it the correct lyrics line by line to create the final performance. The AI is mimicking my shame, not their talent.
The Band:
The instruments are played by AI musicians. Why? Because asking a human guitarist to try 347 versions of a solo would be cruel and unusual punishment. Asking an AI? That’s just a regular Tuesday. Let’s call it ethical workload delegation.
Phase 3: Visuals & Packaging
The AI Art:
The cover art is 100% AI-generated, fitting the experimental theme. This channel is one of several creative experiments I’m running. My overarching goal as a creator is to build a foundation stable enough to bring talented human illustrators on board for all my projects.
Post-Production: Mixed in [FL Studio, Adobe Audition] while deeply questioning my life choices. Mastered to almost sound professional.
This wasn’t just a matter of typing in, “Create a heavy metal cover of Golden from KPop Demon Hunters.” Not only would that be a copyright violation, it would also produce a cruddy cover.
Using AI to produce mediocre content takes no skill. Using AI to produce outstanding content requires artistry. It’s a different artistry than doing things the manual way, but it is artistry nonetheless.
If you’re using AI in a way that is easy and requires no effort, then you’re using it wrong. AI is a tool that rewards skill and hard work, just like any other tool.