Overview
- This week Luke Steele told iHeartRadio at Osheaga that he uses artificial intelligence in his work and called it “just another tool,” likening it to “a really smart guitar pedal.”
- Steele said AI will “empower artists that know how to use it” and warned those who reject the tech that it could “come and swallow you like a boogie monster,” and he downplayed questions about its environmental cost by saying artists should embrace it.
- Stereogum and other outlets described Steele’s tone as realistic and somewhat cynical, noting his remarks mixed enthusiasm for creative possibilities with a casual response to ethical concerns.
- The Australian Recording Industry Association told The Music it supports keeping wholly AI-generated tracks out of the ARIA Charts and is working through how to implement that policy locally.
- The comments land against a wider industry shift that includes platform changes, royalty debates and calls for clearer labelling and consent rules for AI-produced music, raising questions about copyright, chart integrity and how artists’ incomes will be affected.