Ice-T has shared his take on Artificial Intelligence, explaining that he doesn’t share the same concerns that partly pushed the Screen Actors Guild to go on strike over summer.
The New York Post is reporting that the rapper-turned-SVU actor hosted a book signing for Mark Minevich’s Our Planet Powered by AI on Thursday (December 14), where he revealed that he felt that he could “act forever” thanks to the technology.
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“I think Ice-T could potentially act forever,” he said to the outlet. “I wouldn’t care. I think to say ‘no’ would be selfish. A future AI version of me would be better than me.”
He continued: “I believe it’s coming and we need to just address it as it comes. There is nothing you can do. One of my favorite quotes from [famed producer] Quincy Jones is, ‘if you want to lose a fight, fight the future.’ If you can’t beat them, join them. I am trying to read as much [as I can] to be involved as it grows.”
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While Ice-T is welcoming to the technology, at least one other legendary West Coast rapper is a little less excited, namely, Ice Cube. Over the summer, the NWA legend cautioned that the technology would make artists “lazy.”
“I think it’s terrible,” Cube said. “I think it’s gon’ make people lazier, less creative.”
He further illustrated his point by drawing a parallel with on-screen acting, adding: “Could you imagine if I decided not to do a sequel and the movie company said, ‘We have the rights to your likeness. We gon’ put you in this sequel whether you want to be or not ’cause we have the right to.’
“So now they use AI to put Ice Cube in a movie I don’t want to be in, saying things I don’t wanna say and doin’ thing I wouldn’t do, so to me, that’s terrible … or taking an artist that’s passed away and having him do a new song with lyrics that they may not agree with — it’s a slippery slope that will hurt us more than it will help us.”
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On the flipside, Timbaland recently unveiled his plans to venture further into artificial intelligence despite being criticized for using AI-generated Biggie vocals. He explained to Forbes magazine in a recent interview that he plans to “commercialize artificial intelligence software” with the goal of “revolutionizing how songs are made.”
“It’s going to really be a new way of creating and a new way of generating money with less costs,” he said. “I’m already here. This is what I’m doing. I’m going to lead the way.”
