Nick Cave has returned to the front line of the debate over artificial intelligence in the arts, delivering a blistering critique of AI song generators in the latest edition of his newsletter, The Red Hand Files. The Australian-born musician, who has long made Europe his home, responded to a fan's question about whether he is a 'doomer or boomer' on AI, offering a characteristically stark verdict.
'Artificial Intelligence may save the world, annihilate it, or do something in between. I don't know,' Cave wrote. But when it comes to music, his position is less equivocal. He described song generator platforms as 'indicators of this nascent technology’s demonic potential to hollow out human endeavour and sever our connection to the divine.'
In his latest missive, Cave goes further, arguing that these tools 'mock creation itself by rendering humanity unnecessary, taking the fruits of human striving and reducing them to mere products. It is, perhaps, our final, most soul-destroying humiliation.' The language is characteristically apocalyptic, but it reflects a concern that resonates well beyond the singer's own fanbase, as European cultural institutions and artists grapple with the rapid spread of generative AI.
From 'grotesque mockery' to a softened stance and back
Cave has been a vocal critic of AI for years, previously calling it 'unbelievably disturbing' and telling ChatGPT to 'fuck off and leave songwriting alone'. He has also revealed that he received numerous submissions of AI-generated lyrics written 'in the style of Nick Cave', which he dismissed as 'a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human'.
Yet last year, he appeared to soften his position. After watching Andrew Dominik's short film Tupelo, which used AI to animate archival photographs of Elvis Presley, Cave admitted that his view of AI as an artistic device had shifted. 'As I watched Andrew’s surreal little film, I felt my view of AI as an artistic device soften. To some extent, my mind was changed,' he wrote at the time. He described the footage as having 'an uncanny quality, as if he had been raised from the dead', and found the crucifixion-resurrection imagery 'both shocking and deeply affecting'.
Now, however, Cave appears to have reverted to a hardline stance, at least when it comes to songwriting. In his latest newsletter, he tackles a question that has occupied philosophers and critics for centuries: can art be separated from the artist? His answer is unequivocal. 'We cannot separate the art from the artists, for they are as inseparable as the waves from the sea they rise from,' he writes. 'That may be an uncomfortable truth for some but, for me, the matter was settled. Until now.'
The arrival of song generation platforms, he argues, has upended that settled question. 'At last, the artist can be separated from the art. Not just that, the artist – that flawed, messy, broken, woeful, joyful problem – can be removed from the equation altogether, like so much dross.'
Taking direct aim at the AI music service Suno, Cave delivers his most pointed attack. 'Suno, the Great Cancellator, which has never loved or laughed or grieved, never experienced joy or loss or heartbreak, never felt boredom or its adjacent epiphany, produces an imitation of the soul – a song – in fifteen seconds flat. This is an affront to any songwriter who has lived and struggled in this world and earned the right to create a song.'
He concludes with a warning about the broader cultural consequences. 'For those eager to rid the world of problematic artists – for these censorious forces remain persistent – it is surely cause for celebration, as these platforms promise to rid the world of artists altogether.'
Cave's critique arrives at a moment when the music industry across Europe is wrestling with the implications of generative AI. From Paris to Berlin, labels and collecting societies are pushing for stricter regulation, while some artists have embraced the technology as a creative tool. The debate is not merely aesthetic; it touches on copyright, labour rights, and the very definition of artistic authorship.
Meanwhile, Cave continues to engage with his audience in more traditional ways. He recently announced a North American tour for 2027, titled 'Conversations With Nick Cave: An Evening Of Talk And Music', which will see him answer questions from fans and perform stripped-back versions of his songs on the piano. Tickets go on sale on Friday, 13 November.
For now, Cave's message is clear: the machines may be able to mimic the surface of song, but they cannot replicate the messy, human struggle that gives art its meaning. Whether that argument will hold in an era of ever-improving algorithms remains an open question – but for Cave, the answer is already written.
