Is it Real?

While I spend quite a bit of time on social media to keep listeners informed and challenge them to apply a Biblical worldview to a variety of current events, I also notice there are pitfalls.  Take, for instance, a phenomenon that I see regularly on Facebook: a post will appear from what appears to be a credible-looking source, with a link to an article "in the comments."  Alas, I find a link to some website that I've never heard of.  Something just doesn't add up - I don't know what the source of this type of content would be, but I assume it's not human.  Of course, plenty of people will share a bogus post, and we have false or distorted information being shared.  I believe the source to be alternative, or artificial intelligence.  And, AI makes it difficult to distinguish the authentic from the imposter.   We have to be discerning, as 1st John 4 (ESV) directs us:
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

I want to spend some time talking about Christian music for a moment.  The New York Post announced that, "Solomon Ray has taken the gospel music world by storm after topping the iTunes and Billboard charts with his album 'Faithful Soul.'"  The article goes on to say, "Described as a 'Mississippi-made soul singer carrying a Southern soul revival into the present' on his Spotify profile, Ray made waves after releasing the five-song EP on Nov. 7.

One of the songs, "Find Your Rest," includes lyrics such as "Lord, I’m tired from all this stressing / Too weak to count my blessings / Ain’t got time for window dressing / Just tryna keep my soul intact."   And, this singer has played social media to a T, offering lyric videos that feature his picture as the soulful tunes play.  

But it's not real.

The Post article related:

Ray is depicted in several AI images and videos as a man wearing a gold cross necklace, a white collared shirt, a suit and a tan fedora.

“With a voice like weathered velvet and a storyteller’s cadence, he sings as if he’s testifying from experience: part Sunday-morning conviction, part Saturday-night grit,” the verified artist’s Spotify profile notes.

In an Instagram post, a hip-hop artist named Christopher “Topher” Townsend "...identified himself as “the man behind the machine” in a video shared to Instagram on Nov. 19."

Outspoken Christian musical artist Forrest Frank took to social media to argue that Ray doesn’t have a soul and therefore Ray’s songs don’t count as art.  The article goes on to quote Frank, who said, "At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it,” adding, “So I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.”

Townsend responded in an Instagram video, "This is an extension of my creativity, so therefore to me it’s art...It’s definitely inspired by a Christian. It may not be performed by one, but I don’t know why that really matters in the end.”

And, a worship leader actually named Solomon Ray spoke up against the AI-generated music, as well.  A representative of the music platform Spotify said, "We support artists’ freedom to use AI creatively while actively combating its misuse by content farms and bad actors,” adding, “Spotify does not create or own music...this is a platform for licensed music where royalties are paid based on listener engagement, and all music is treated equally, regardless of the tools used to make it.”  Billboard said, “AI music is no longer a fantasy or niche curiosity among internet sleuths. It’s here, and it’s already beginning to have an impact on Billboard’s charts."

I got my first experience creating music to use background music for a possible radio promotional spot - no words, just music.  It sounded terrible, but if I pursue it, it will get better.  There are numerous platforms that can be used to create AI music and vocals.

A real issue for me is the online persona.  A computer-generated musical artist is being passed off as a real person, complete with a seemingly real personality.  And, a very valid question has to do with whether something created in this way is real art and should be marketed and sold, passed off as real when it is really counterfeit.

That's applicable in a lot of areas in our lives - we have to be able to tell the real from the counterfeit.  Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians, "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."   The Bible speaks of false prophets about whom we should be aware.  I think that sometimes we need to develop a healthy skepticism, not a critical spirit, but recognizing the playing field and the pervasiveness of AI, we have to realize that not everything we see or hear is genuine. It's been said that knowing the true will help expose the counterfeit.   And, knowing the truth of God's Word and the leadership of the Holy Spirit can be valuable as we navigate the content that is all around us through the Internet and various forms of media.