4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; 6 They have ears, but they cannot hear... (Psalm 115:4-6 NASB 95) The phrase “Is it live or is it Memorex?” became iconic in the early 1980s as part of a marketing campaign for audio tapes. According to Wikipedia, the commercials featured popular jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, who sang such a high note that it shattered a wine glass while being recorded on a Memorex tape. When the tape was played back, the recording also broke the glass, a testament to the exceptional quality of the tape. American Faith & Freedom is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was a real person… AI-generated musician Solomon Ray is not. Although he does not exist, Solomon Ray’s Spotify channel attracts over 324,000 monthly listeners. He also has over 48,000 social media followers. According to his Spotify profile, Solomon Ray is a “Mississippi-made soul singer carrying a Southern soul revival into the present.” His most recent Spotify release, a Christmas album called “A Soulful Christmas”, features the tracks “Soul to the World” and “Jingle Bell Soul.” The truth is, he wasn’t made in Mississippi, but deep inside a lifeless computer chip. There is something very wrong with AI-generated worship songs... One writer put it this way, “The current artist topping the Christian music charts has never attended a single church service and cannot live by the teachings of Jesus, no matter how hard it tries”. That’s because he isn’t real… But, as it turns out, there is a real worship leader named Solomon Ray… who also recently released an album and a Christmas single. The real Solomon Ray leads worship at Fresh Life Church in Kalispell, Montana. Also known as “Solo Ray”, he has worked as a real session musician for other real worship artists like Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, and Pat Barrett. Not surprisingly, that simple fact has sparked debates about copyright law, ethics, and theology. Forrest Frank is a contemporary Christian artist (real) who blends elements of hip hop, pop, and rock into his music. In a recent interview, Frank said this, “AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it, so I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.” AI is now being used by some for everything from sermon preparation, virtual preachers, and fake religious figures. Some have even created chatbots that claim to represent a “Jesus” (see my post on this) that you can talk to about your problems. What to Look Out For…
With that said, I prefer to listen to an artist that I can have coffee with… As humans, we are made in God’s image and have souls that can hear and respond to His Word. No matter how “intelligent” AI claims to be, it can never inherit nor understand the concept of eternal life.
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