Pollstar (04/13/23) Lind, J.R.

J.R. Lind writes that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are stirring debate across many industries and fields, with implications for live events and creative expression. The live industry appears to be weighing AI's advantages from a practical standpoint, with more efficient tour routing and logistics and venue security analytics among the applications under consideration. The more intriguing question of people attending concerts performed by AI-powered avatars appears answerable in the sense that interest does exist, according to Lind. For example, a computer-generated version of deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. held a concert in the metaverse last year. While that and other digital performers need human initialization and input, a pure AI live show is not so far removed as to be unthinkable. AI could also potentially provide the elusive perfect live experience desired by both fans and artists. The tradeoff, however, is the loss of an authentic communal experience. Lind ultimately reasons that this tradeoff is too high a price, concluding that "it is the imperfections and the inconveniences and interactions that make us human and make live performance transcendent and trading that for the convenience of isolation is a travesty that will destroy our humanity."

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