Dolly Parton is not sacred because of the use of artificial intelligence.
Holly Herndon has released a cover of Dolly Parton's hit song, "Jolene." Holly+ is Herndon's digital deep fake twin.
In the music video, Holly+ is playing in a decaying digital world.
It's almost kind of good. Herndon's renditions have a big, round sound, soaked in reverb and backed by a bouncy, acoustic riffs and a chorus of plaintive wailing. She has a pleasant voice. Holly + does. It's definitely an effective demonstration of artificial intelligence with a hint of creativity.
The performance is a bit unnerving. The giant inhales between verse are too long to be believable. Despite the somber tone, Parton's vocals are not as vulnerable as they could be.
After listening to Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" a million times, the artificial intelligence is just checking the boxes of what makes a good cover.
Herndon has managed to pull off what she can here, and the criticisms mostly reflect the limitations of the artificial intelligence more than her skills as a musician. If her previous work is any indication, the seams are intentional.
If you didn't know you were listening to an artificial intelligence from the beginning, you would probably be deceived.
Herndon sees her experiment as a way for artists to take control of their digital selves.
Herndon said thatVocal deepfakes are here to stay. There needs to be a balance between encouraging people to experiment and protecting artists.
Herndon's views remain to be seen. Even if her intentions are to benefit artists, it's still worrying that an artificial intelligence could pull off such a convincing performance.
Artificial intelligence that creates music from prompt should scare musicians.
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