Sheryl Crow Begs Government To ‘Act Now’ On AI Before It Destroys Music

The singer Sheryl Crow is speaking out this week to beg lawmakers to “act now” on artificial intelligence before it becomes too powerful.

Crow Sounds Off

Crow, 62, wrote in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter that while she is “not a scientist,” she understands the potential existential threat that AI poses to the world.

Crow revealed in the column that her song Evolution was inspired by her fears of AI. Lyrics of the song include, “We can create. We can destroy. We can feel pain. We can feel joy. We can plant seeds and watch love grow. We can feel love ‘cause it’s written in the human code.”

Check out the song for yourself in the video below.

Crow explained that she wrote this song “after learning of the use of AI to bring back different well-loved artists/entertainers from the dead for what I can only assume was for someone else’s personal gain.”

“I was terrified, and where do I go when I’m terrified? I go to my studio,” she continued, adding that she ended up writing ten songs.

Crow went on to say that she was “heartened” to see that the likenesses of Hollywood actors are being protected after last year’s actors’ strikes, and she now wants the same thing for musicians. She revealed that she is not worried about any loss of money, as she instead fears “the deception we are giving our approval to by not doing something to keep it from happening.”

“Congress needs to act now, and we need to be diligent,” Crow said emphatically.

Watch Crow talk more about her AI fears in the video below.

Related: ‘Family Ties’ Star Justine Bateman Issues Chilling Warning About AI In Hollywood

Tennessee Passes ‘ELVIS’ Act

This comes after Tennessee lawmakers stepped up to pass the “ELVIS” act, which added vocal likenesses to its list of protected entities, with this including names and photographs, according to Fox News.

Find out more about this in the video below.

Crow pointed out that many artists have been talking to congress about protecting their likenesses, and that she was recently one of two hundred musicians to sign an open letter to tech companies to “Stop Devaluing Music.”

“I hope you will support us in these efforts, so artists can keep making it for you,” she concluded. “It’s what we love doing and it matters in the course of our history as human beings on this planet.”

This comes two months after Crow told The Guardian that AI “feels like an assault on my spirit.” Watch Crow talk more about this in the video below.

Related: Tom Hanks Reveals He’ll Star In Movies After His Death Using AI

Crow’s History

Esquire reported that Crow is a nine-time Grammy winner who has sold over fifty million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.

Her official Biography states that she got her start as a backup singer for artists like Michael Jackson and Rod Stewart before finding stardom herself with her hit 1993 debut album Tuesday Night Music Club.

Watch Crow talk about her latest album Evolution, which came out March 29, in the video below.

When looking at just how advanced AI has become in recent years, it’s truly terffying to think about what it will be able to do in the very near future. In the end, Crow may be on to something with her AI fears, and more artists should join her in voicing their concerns over this technology to the world.