Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | May 14, 2026
All the cool people agree that using AI is loser behaviour. It makes you a hack, says Hacks writer Jen Statsky. That show's star, Hannah Einbinder, thinks you're a total loser if you pretend it's real art. While Demi Moore tried to pull a Reese Witherspoon-esque "well, it's here to stay so we should work with it" defence at Cannes, her fellow jury member, screenwriter Paul Laverty, said "we shouldn't let these tech-bro billionaires who are mostly right-wing libertarians dictate how we live our lives." While our social media feeds grow increasingly polluted with slop that claims to be "art", there's been a real push for transparency. Music platforms are now implementing disclaimers that show whether or not an artist is using the plagiarism machine. It's a start, at least, although plenty of bad-faith players will just lie and keep clogging up our playlists with this crap.
Producer Jack Antonoff, who has worked with Taylor Swift, Lorde, and St. Vincent, to name but a few of the artists on his roster, had some very strong words for people using AI to "make" music. He posted his extensive thoughts on Instagram.
"What we do has become and ancient ritual. You don't have to write music, you don't have to record it and you don't have to bring out the band and play it. And yet for us, the idea of optimizing what we do is a complete miss of the entire point of what compels us in the first place. We (myself, the band and everyone I know, frankly) have never been looking for this work to become quicker or easier. We were never frustrated by the randomness and magic it takes. We do it for that exact reason - and without the process itself ::: nothingness.So to everyone who is gassed up about the new ways you can fake making art, by all means drive right off that cliff," he added. "We're genuinely happy to see you go. Generations coming will be engaging in the ancient ritual of writing, recording and performing as it comes to us from God. So as we embark on this strange detour where the bad actors will willingly reveal themselves through slop, and the struggling great will be further spread thin to make an honest living doing what they were put on Earth to do, we (myself, the band and frankly everyone I know) remain more dedicated than ever to reveal what comes from within. Writing music, recording and performing it -- that's it. Nothing more embarrassing than considering there is a way to optimize that holy process."
He ended that paragraph by calling these people "Godless whores." That's an old-school insult right there.
Antonoff also correctly pointed out that "it's mainly the out of touch shouting about following this nightmare," while new artists are "genuinely uninterested in anything that doesn't come from within." The people who are the loudest about the supposed inevitability of AI in art are either paid shills or people who seem to hold a genuine disdain for the creative process. What, you think Trump loves making himself into Jesus because he's fascinated by painting?
AI is meant to be an insult, in the same way that plagiarism is. People plagiarise because they're talentless and lazy, yes, but also because they see the people whose work they steal as being beneath them. They know they could credit them or collaborate, but they'd rather be a thief because they think they're more important than the creators who do the real work. That's what fuels Sam Altman's flop-sweaty begging to be allowed to commit as much copyright infringement as he pleases, and it's what empowers the hacks and dweebs who lack the skill or drive to commit to a real project to pretend their prompt typing is the same thing as real creation.
Creativity is one of the few things humanity does right, and it's something we've been pretty good about for centuries. It evolves with the times and we explore new mediums. It certainly doesn't need to be refined through a water-gobbling data stealer that sees empathy and curiosity as disposable. Some people are okay to bully, and Jack Antonoff knows that.
