Music can thrive in the age of AI

The birth of ChatGPT brought with it a range of fears about how large language models allow users to quickly undermine processes that previously required human time, effort, passion and understanding. And beyond that, the tech sector’s often stormy relationship with regulation and ethical oversight has left many fearful of a future in which artificial intelligence replaces humans at work and stifles human creativity.

While many of these fears are valid, we should also consider the possibility that human creativity can flourish in the age of… AI. In 2025, we will begin to see this in our collective cultural response to technology. To examine how culture and creativity might adapt to the age of AI, we use hip-hop as an example. It is one of the most lucrative forms of Music ever been invented and has already been influenced by major language models. We have all heard and seen the AI-driven rap songs of popular artists go viral and easily confused with authentic original music. For example, during the recent rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, an AI-generated song called “One Shot” was released that was incorrectly attributed to Lamar. In 2025, we should expect more AI-generated fake music, especially fueled by the social media circus where the loudest and most provocative music can attract the immediate attention of millions of people.

We believe that creative engagement with AI in 2025 will take three different forms.

The first could be described as “complete surrender”: Don’t run away from the technology, but rather rely on the fact that artificial intelligence can generate terabytes of music in a few minutes, much of it just as fun as the music our favorite artists. While this strategy involves leaving the music-making to the robots, the human-controlled aspects of musical culture remain intact. For example, a human element lies in the way AI music is curated (think successful DJs) and in a new industry of art critics and commentators. This is not unlike the TikTok influencers who are currently driving the widespread popularity of relics in art and technology. Human-led discussion about AI products can be big business and will spawn a neo-influencer culture that compares and evaluates these advances.

A second strategy involves an indirect incorporation of artificial intelligence into the arts, where creativity becomes a healthy mix of human and machine. In the case of hip-hop, artists like 50 Cent have recently expressed their enjoyment of AI-powered country music renditions of hip-hop classics (which are often made for humor). This is a model we will continue to see: AI-powered reinterpretations or remixes of classic songs. Furthermore, we can see elaborations of this model: the growth of a battle rap scene powered by AI algorithms trained on human artists’ data sets. Or maybe even rap duos consisting of two members: a rapper and his AI-trained buddy (with chorus hooks also from a mix of human and AI singers).

This kind of Robo-Franken hip-hop leaves a lot of room for clever engagement and could spawn whole new subgenres of music. This will also have business implications: artists can be compensated based on their training data, potentially an improvement over the hip-hop business models of yesterday and today. The possibilities are only as limited as the infinite combination of human ingenuity and computing power.

Finally, the year 2025 marks the formal beginning of a great irony: AI art will inspire a new appreciation for classic, man-made relics. As the volume of AI creations quickly overtakes human creations, highly valued human relics will increase in value. For example, one of the messages of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary celebration was that society still lacks a general appreciation for the art form. Fewer than a dozen hip hop artists or groups have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, very few of hip-hop’s founders are wealthy, as they developed the art form at a time when it was not financially lucrative. Much like a retro-tech industry has emerged that celebrates the simple devices of yesterday, we will see a renewed appreciation for music from the analog era.

The rise of AI and related technologies will shed new light on original music that predates its advent. This will require an appreciation for proto-hip-hop, which could lead to a lucrative industry around the preservation of original music and the associated valorization of artists. AI could help with the origins of hip-hop, finally giving it the respect it has always deserved and a place among the fine arts.

Human technology and art are two institutions that stand out for their ability to surprise us. Yes, the relationship between creativity and AI will be tumultuous in the near future, but 2025 will be a turning point where we begin to realize greater possibilities. Perhaps there is a creative light at the end of the technology tunnel where analog-era art forms like hip-hop can thrive in a land of big language models and whatever else the age of AI will spawn.