The Hardest Part — Washed Out
#365Songs: May 3rd
I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about AI lately. I waver between fearing it’ll wipe out artists (and humanity)— and to some extent that’s already begun — and experimenting with various programs to understand its practical applications. So far, there’s some good, a whole lot of bad, and the biggest reason to worry is that, in the wrong hands, all of our worst fears can, and likely will, come true. And let’s be clear: a lot of AI is in the wrong hands.
But it’s here, and coming at us fast. You can’t open an app, or a job posting, without reading “AI,” so much so that it almost feels like a mandatory buzzword. A few weeks ago, a small production company — not much larger than mine — partnered with OpenAI to make a film that, they argue, couldn’t have been possible on a small budget without Sora. It was the first compelling argument for AI as a supplemental, cost-effective tool that I’ve seen. What made it interesting, however, is that rather than replacing the humanity that makes, and stars in, the film, Sora was used as an enhancement.
Well, things have escalated quickly.
Today, beloved chill-wave and indie artist, Washed Out, released a single off his upcoming album, the first in four years. The song, The Hardest Part, is good, if you like Washed Out, though not a huge departure from what you’d expect. But it’s not the song that’s making waves, it’s the accompanying music video directed by Paul Trillo, which was made entirely through OpenAI’s Sora using no crew or talent.
I’ll reserve judgment on the quality of the video until the end of the post, as both art and “art” are highly subjective. See for yourself.
Let’s just say reactions have been extreme. Here are a few.
The LA Times wrote: “The Hardest Part,” a new song from indie pop artist Washed Out, is all about love lost, among the most human of themes. But ironically, to illustrate the tune’s sense of longing, the musician turned to something far less flesh-and-blood: artificial intelligence.”
Washed Out’s Ernest Greene released a statement, in advance of the release, that sums up his take on matters:
“I had the seed of this video concept 10 years ago, where we do an infinite zoom of a couple’s life over the course of many decades, but I have yet to attempt it because I figured it’d be too ambitious for a music video. While the technology is experimental and cutting-edge, I wanted to do something that also felt like a classic music video that would hold your attention no matter what tech was being used in the process. I was specifically interested in what makes Sora so unique. It offers something that couldn’t quite be shot with a camera, nor could it be animated in 3D, it was something that could have only existed with this specific technology. The surreal and hallucinatory aspects of AI allow you to explore and discover new ideas that you would have never dreamed of. Using AI to simply recreate reality is boring. I wasn’t interested in capturing realism but something that felt hyperreal. The fluid blending and merging of different scenes feels more akin to how we move through dreams and the murkiness of memories. While some people feel this may be supplanting how things are made, I see this as supplementing ideas that could never have been made otherwise. Many artists in this industry are constantly compromising and negotiating their ideas with the reality of what can be made. This offers a glimpse at a future where music artists will be given the opportunity to dream bigger. An overreliance on this technique may become a crutch and it’s important that we don’t use this as the new standard of creation but another technique in the toolbelt.”
Trevor Powers, of the vastly superior indie peer, Youth Lagoon, didn’t hold back. “This Washed Out AI vid is the best case for blatant artlessness I’ve ever seen. It says nothing, does nothing, is nothing. Ugly slog too. Being an artist carries the responsibility of telling the truth. Ur personal truth. Some guts. Anything short of that, ur a bore & a grifter.”
And, of course, the Redditors went fucking nuts.
Redcloud15 said, “I honestly love that the use of AI in the music video is causing such controversy. These are the conversations artists and fans ultimately need to be having. AI clearly isn’t going away, but to what extent should it be used and how should it be regulated?”
Shvffle said, “high tech plagiarism that just makes me dizzy. super disappointed in washed out and sub pop for doing this!”
“Yeah this video is pretty creepy ngl. The technology is cool but the execution makes my skin crawl a bit.” — /u/paartalitors
“This is such an artistic leap forward! Love seeing Washed Out continuing to innovate.” — /u/robotboy1206
“Absolutely mind-blowing use of this new AI technology. A pioneering artistic statement.” — /u/mcmacmac
“I don’t get the appeal personally. It comes across as very sterile and devoid of genuine human emotion to me.” — /u/st4rl3
“Kinda crazy to think we’re watching the first major music video made entirely through AI. The future is here!” — /u/synnaxian
Whether you like it or not, or find value in making art at all costs, the real issue is how OpenAI has built Sora’s technology — which has been, and will continue to be, the recipient of some of the most landmark copyright cases in modern history. I urge you to listen to Ezra Klein’s three-part AI series, or The New York Times podcast, Hard Fork, which go into depth around how AI leaders like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and OpenAI are indexing everything ever made, no matter who made it or how it’s protected, to build their engines.
And that leads us to the most important response I’ve read, which was shared by DP Oren Soffer, after Vimeo named The Hardest Part a Staff Pick. It’s important to note that Vimeo has long been home to filmmakers as an outlet to share short and technically experimental films.
“Insanely, mind-numbingly ironic to give a Staff Pick and a platform to a video created utilizing software built entirely on plagiarism of existing works while at the same time issuing automated copyright takedowns of legitimate and properly licensed commercial projects on people’s portfolios that hundreds of real human artists worked incredibly hard to create.”
This, friends, is the point, and this is where things get really complicated.
I almost entirely agree with Oren, Trevor, and the crazy Redditors: this shit is fucked and sets a terrifying precedent for the future. I’m disappointed that Washed Out went the AI route at the expense of promoting an up-and-coming filmmaker — not to mention the crews who make all films possible.
That said, I work in film production and know all too well how much it costs, how impossible it is to produce a video in a world where musicians — and filmmakers, for that matter — already can’t make money. And we all know music videos have never been a profitable game. Let’s say the average indie music video costs $50,000 to produce, give or take. Thanks to the profiteers at Spotify, it’d take roughly 1.35 million listens to pay for a music video. And that’s before the artist makes a penny.
That doesn’t mean I’m defending Washed Out, Paul Trillo, or Vimeo. I’m not. Though I do appreciate that they created conversation not just about the use of AI, but also the ethics and quality of the video itself. This is exactly what we need.
It is up to us, however, to demand fair pay in the music and film industries. Let’s remember: multiple truths can exist at once: we can criticize an artist for using ethically questionable technology, but we can also accept that given the economics these same artists need to find innovative ways to survive. And that’s up to us, the audience, to accept that how we consume art is not sustainable, that we can’t have it both ways: free or cheap access to unlimited songs and movies AND the right to criticize artists for using the tools available to promote themselves.
It’s time we blame the real problem: out of touch politicians for accepting big tech lobby money at the expense of common sense regulations, the tech platforms profiting off of art while inhibiting earning potential, and ourselves for buying into the model at all.
Oh, and since I promised: I think the music video is absolute shit. It’s interesting for a few moments, if for no other reason than because it’s so disorientating and dizzying it takes a moment for your brain to catch up to what’s actually happening. To re-quote Trevor, “It says nothing, does nothing, is nothing.”
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