Disappointing. The Rolling Stones turned a new single into a vanity project by using AI to de-age themselves.

[highplainsdem]

29. How ridiculous. If thinking there are few good uses for AI makes me the "Internet Purity Police" then

there are millions of us, with the ones on Bluesky especially visible. Most forums I've seen on Reddit are pretty hostile to AI, too, unless they're specifically FOR talking about AI. Maybe those are the AI Acolytes in their online churches?

Anyway, I posted this after seeing that Reddit thread pop up when I did a search for the new video. The people who register and post in subreddits for particular artists tend to be hardcore fans, and a lot of those fans on r/rollingstones hate the AI use in the video. Same with a lot of fans posting on YouTube. And I saw harsh statements about the AI use from some magazines.

And while you could say that anything the Rolling Stones do is their business, their fans' reaction to it is the fans' business. We see plenty of examples on DU of people here deciding to turn against artists for various reasons.

I was curious about what DUers would think of the video, so I posted this.

Btw, the threads on r/rollingstones about this included messages from one of the several drummers in the video. He said he didn't like the use of AI in the video either.

It's a sensible attitude from a young musician who really shouldn't want musicians who've been stars for several decades using AI and other tech to fake a youthful appearance and keep going indefinitely.

The members of Kiss are planning to use digital avatars to keep sucking up money music fans have to spend on concerts:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/kiss-band-digital-avatars-180983388/

That's not AI, but it's a similar plan to keep going as a fake band when they should retire.

It was sad when Abba did it, too.

Mick Jagger was asked a few years ago if the Stones would ever use digital avatars, and he refused to answer other than saying that "we're already in an AI world."

I'm all in favor of older musicians continuing to make new music and tour as long as they want to and are able to, and as long as their fans want new music and concerts from them. But if they need high-tech fraud to appear to be performing, they should step aside for others. Fans can still enjoy older performances that were real.