AI Used to Revive John Lennon's Voice in New Beatles Album

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Mitzi Hill

Partner

Get in touch

Mitzi Hill

Partner

In a feel-good story, maybe, Paul McCartney and his producers and collaborators have apparently used AI to pull John Lennon vocals from old analog tape. McCartney will release a last Beatles album that includes the rescued vocals. McCartney says they are not AI-generated fakes, but an example of using new technology to revisit old recordings.

Why It Matters

While the world -- including its lawmakers and regulators -- frets about what AI can do to us, plenty of people are seeing what AI can do for us. This is a prime example of how use of technology evolves in the marketplace and why historically most tech fans favor minimal regulation. The fact that McCartney points out that these vocals aren't fake, however, is a good example of how businesses can integrate AI into their own operations: with transparency and disclosure about what the tech is used to do.

Although excited at the possibility of using AI to restore old recordings, McCartney said that it’s “kind of scary” to hear John Lennon’s voice singing one of his songs. “People say to me, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s a track where John’s singing one of my songs.’ And it isn’t — it’s just AI, you know,” McCartney said. “There’s a good side to it and then a scary side, and we’ll just have to see where that leads.”