A new song by two of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B has taken off -- but the artists have nothing to do with the track’s production.
Toronto’s Drake and The Weeknd were featured on the song titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” which was posted to TikTok on Saturday by a mysterious person cloaked in a white sheet and sunglasses who goes by ghostwriter977.
Little is known about the song’s producer aside from the fact they said the song was made entirely by artificial intelligence.
“I used AI to make a Drake song feat The Weeknd,” text over the producer says in the video as the track plays.
The song, which has already been played more than 9.2 million times on the platform and received more than 250,000 plays on Spotify, sounds eerily similar to the voices of the two artists themselves and fans don’t appear to care.
“I like it but I feel like I’m not supposed to,” wrote one user. “Bout to be the first AI platinum record,” wrote another.
AI songs with computer-generated vocalists have taken the world by storm as of late.
A recent cover of Beyonce’s "Cuff It" featuring Rihanna was received well by fans, despite the fact that it was reportedly produced using ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, Ye's (formerly Kanye West) AI-cover of Colbie Caillat's 2007 hit "Bubbly" seems to be a hit.
But not everyone appears to love the new wave of hip hop made by machine learning.
A coalition of artists and their record labels dubbed the “Human Artistry Campaign” has published seven principles to “support human creativity and accomplishment” in the face of the growing trend of producing AI music.
“Developments in artificial intelligence are exciting and could advance the world farther than we ever thought possible,” the group, which is backed by the Recording Industry Association of America -- whose membership includes Universal Music Group where Drake and The Weeknd are signed -- wrote on their site. “But AI can never replace human expression and artistry.”
One of those principles includes the use of legal copyright, which the group says AI music producers must comply with so the songs aren’t passed off as if they were written by the actual artist.
In Canadian law, passing off occurs when competitors deceptively represent or market goods or services in a way that confuses consumers, something ghostwriter977 hasn’t done in this case as it’s explicitly labeled as AI.
While neither Drake nor The Weeknd have commented on the successful computer-generated track, the former may not be a fan.
In reaction to his voice being used virtually on a cover of Bronx, NY rapper Ice Spice’s "Munch (Feelin' U)," Drake wrote “This is the final straw AI,” in a post to his Instagram.
