“If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate shit, you’re disgusting”: SZA calls out the “vultures” training AI on tracks without permission

Last week, The Atlantic’s AI Watchdog revealed that over 12 million tracks are being unlawfully used to in AI development. Now, multi-award winning artist SZA has discovered that 238 of her tracks are included in the “giant datasets of songs” being used to train AI – and she’s not happy about it.

Taking to her private Instagram account, NotMusicAtAllISwear, the singer-songwriter has condemned anyone supporting the use of AI in music. “If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate shit, you’re disgusting and there’s nothing you could ever say to me to make this okay,” she writes over a screenshot of the AI Watchdog search engine.

In a separate post, she specifically calls out Diplo. “I don’t know who needs to hear this but Diplo has equity in Suno and is actively attempting to train it on the best and brightest black minds of writers and producers,” she says.

Back in April, Diplo appeared on the Behind The Wall podcast and sung AI’s praises. Amidst his claims, the producer shockingly admitted that he prefers AI-generated voices over real singers nowadays. “I don’t even need a voice any more – I can get the best voice from AI,” he said. “I don’t need anybody to sing the song any more.”

Of course, if more producers take a shine to AI-generated voices, that will have a severe knock on effect on real singers. And, as SZA points out, training AI on the work of black musicians such as herself is another way of the music industry undercutting and exploiting black minds. “We make up 13% of the American population yet influence the world with our sound and perspective,” she explains.

“We have no protection in legislature medical or creative – the easiest to steal from…” she continues. “Do not train AI with your genius! Fuck these weird ass vultures.”

SZA’s anger towards AI has been bubbling beneath the surface for quite some time. Back in May, the singer commented on guitarist Sophie Burrell’s Instagram post exposing an AI deepfake account cloning her performance videos.

“I am so genuinely offended,” SZA wrote in support of the guitarist. “Hurts more that streaming services and our labels won’t protect or advocate for us. We mean nothing to anyone omg.”