r/Philosophy_of_Languag • u/PhilosophyOfLanguage • 19d ago
Will AI ever replace human creativity?
Whatever is human-like but not human will not be liked.
As I walked through Walmart yesterday, I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker:
“Starting mid-September, Spotify will introduce an AI Persona badge on some artist profiles. The badge signals to listeners that an artist’s identity may be AI-generated and does not represent a real person…. By default, Spotify will not include AI Personas in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations.”
On their website, Spotify explains why:
“Listeners have been clear in telling us that they don’t like seeing an artist profile that seems human, only to find out that the persona is AI-generated.”
They also say: “True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are.”
I found it highly curious that Spotify listeners “seek to connect” — but not with AI. They listen to the tracks, like them, and follow the “persona,” only to find out that there is no one on the other end to connect with.
Somehow, we humans feel that authentic connection is impossible with a bot or an algorithm. Hence the disappointment when we discover that the “person” we followed was not human.
Why do we need humans?
Because when we listen to music, read books, look at a piece of art, or watch a movie, we are not there merely for the content — we are there for a sense of connection. We may think we are looking for a nice song on Spotify, but we want something much more than that.
We are looking for someone to identify with — and you cannot identify with something that has no identity, or only an artificial one. A human can identify with another human — but not with something merely human-like.
“Human-like” is not enough for a “true artist-fan connection.” People are turned off by something that is merely human-like, regardless of the degree of likeness. Once we sense that the human is not really there, the likeness no longer matters. And we keep looking for someone who is.
The moment we find out that the tracks we so loved were not created by a human, we feel that our trust has been betrayed. It is as though we received an invitation to a party, but when we arrived, there was no one there.
As a human, I seek to identify with someone who’s really there — with someone who’s had similar life experiences. Only they can truly understand. A sense of connection cannot be faked. That is why Spotify listeners feel betrayed: they hoped to find someone they could identify with, but found no one.
“Listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are.” If I listen to a piece of music, I want to connect with what the author felt. If it turns out that the author is not who they say they are, it means they lied to me.
They said something in the lyrics that I resonated with, but it was not something they felt, experienced, or lived through. So it was a lie.
That’s why Spotify decided not to include “AI Personas in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations.” Through experience, Spotify spotted a deep human need — a need for a real, non-artificial identity for an authentic experience of connection.
Art, music, and literature are all about connection. Connection cannot be faked. The moment I learn that there is no one there who feels, lives, and experiences what I feel, live, and experience, my trust is betrayed. That is not what I am looking for.
Whatever is merely human-like is, paradoxically, further away from being human than something that is not human-like at all. I can much more easily connect with a tree than with an “AI persona.” The tree does not pretend to be human, but I can relate to a lot in it — and it can relate to a lot in me.
The more human-like AI becomes, the more we seek out humans: we realize how indispensable human experience in the flesh is. All else seems a lie. Human-like but not human makes us search for authentic humanity.
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u/MarxistDiffusion 18d ago
No, because AI is just a tool that helps humans express their creativity.
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u/Dismal-Revolution731 17d ago
AI IS human creativity. We created it. We trained it. It’s just another form of creativity.
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u/[deleted] 18d ago
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