Max Cavalera Says AI Can't Replace Personal Interaction in Music Creation

JAKARTA - Former Sepultura vocalist and Soulfly founder, Max Cavalera, spoke up about the phenomenon of the use of artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence (AI) that is shaking the global music industry.

Cavalera's interest in this issue began with a debate about the use of AI-based music generators that are capable of creating melodies, harmonies, and rhymes using algorithms and machine learning (ML) models.

For Cavalera, who throughout his career is known for being prolific in cross-genre and cross-band collaborations, there is a fundamental element missing in the digital process. He emphasizes that the essence of a work of art lies in authentic personal interaction, something he believes cannot be reproduced by any machine as smart as it is.

"That's one of my arguments with people about all this AI nonsense. For me, that's what AI can't do. You can't really bring people together like me and Dino Cazares (Fear Factory guitarist), or me and Chino Moreno (Deftones vocalist), or me and Tom Araya (Slayer vocalist), then you get a cool song from it," said Cavalera when he was a guest in the latest episode of the RRBG podcast.

"AI will never be able to do that. And they won't be able to do it. They will make a fake photocopy of it, but it's not the same. I don't care what people say. It's not the same, man, and it will never be the same," he said.

Despite launching a harsh criticism of AI's creative ability, Max did not completely close his eyes to the development of the times. The 56-year-old musician chose a more moderate attitude in looking at the future of technology in everyday life. He sees the possibility for humans to walk side by side with technology, as long as the limitations of humanity are maintained and respected as the main pillar of art.

"My hope is that we can coexist with this thing; that's my wish. Because I think some of it can be good, if done the right way," he said.

"I think we're actually going to learn to live alongside this AI technology and see where it goes from there. But a person's soul, it's a unique thing. Your heart, your passion, it's a human thing," Cavalera said.