The worlds of religion, music, and artificial intelligence collided in a surprising, if not inevitable, development when the top-charting song on both iTunes and Billboard featured an entirely manufactured artist and library. Soul singer Soloman Ray hit the number one spot for gospel music, but with one giant caveat. Ray is not a real person.
While Ray has all the right markings of a real artist, including a new Christian album, social media profiles and a prolific following on the popular streaming app Spotify, he is entirely generated by AI. All of the music is crafted by artificial intelligence and his trademark look, down to fashion choices, is likewise the result of carefully constructed depictions.
According to Christianity Today, “Ray is a verified artist on the streaming platform [Spotify], draws over 324,000 monthly listeners, and became the top artist on the iTunes top 100 Christian and gospel albums chart this week.” Given the advancements made in technology, Ray’s storyline isn’t entirely shocking, though it does continue to blur the lines of reality and fiction.
Despite being seemingly ubiquitous, Ray’s success has not been without controversy. Popular – and real – Christian musicians and artists pushed back against the existence of this new music trend in general and Ray in particular. “At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it. So I think that’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit,” said Christian music artist Forrest Frank.
Adding to the conversation was another Christian singer and songwriter. “It’s difficult to envision a future where we look back and think creating AI was a net positive for our world. At most it should be a tool for humans, not a replacement for them,” said Phil Wickham.
“I’m honestly still wrestling with the whole ai music thing. Can it be a tool to speed up a rather long tedious process – yes. But can it also be used as a crutch instead of finding inspiration and direction from Holy Spirit – also yes. Regardless – I’m believing God will be magnified regardless,” said singer Colton Dixon.
In response to the changing dynamics of AI and music, the streaming service Spotify released a lengthy statement addressing how it acknowledged the role of technology and listeners’ demand to know what they are listening to while also addressing the realities that artificial intelligence was here to stay.
“Music has always been shaped by technology,” the statement read in part. ‘From multitrack tape and synthesizers to digital audio workstations and Auto-Tune, every generation of artists and producers has used new tools to push sound and storytelling forward.’
“However, the pace of recent advances in generative AI technology has felt quick and at times unsettling, especially for creatives. At its best, AI is unlocking incredible new ways for artists to create music and for listeners to discover it. At its worst, AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners, push “slop” into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers. That kind of harmful AI content degrades the user experience for listeners and often attempts to divert royalties to bad actors.”
“The future of the music industry is being written, and we believe that aggressively protecting against the worst parts of Gen AI is essential to enabling its potential for artists and producers,” it continued.