Arijit Singh aims to patent his voice, says AI is a tool, not threat. Video

Arijit Singh said he is patenting his voice with AI.

Renowned artist Arijit Singh shared his insights on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on the music industry during an interview with “The Music Podcast” on YouTube. Singh, known for his soulful voice, expressed a forward-thinking perspective on incorporating AI into his musical endeavours, including patenting his voice.

Singh affirmed, "If I don’t learn about AI, I will fall behind." The singer said he does not see AI as a threat but as a tool that can enhance the creative process.

"AI would be a feed ultimately. Those who are creating AI, who knows what data they are putting in. It’s basically the character, it is like human," he stated, drawing a parallel between the development of AI and human life experiences shaping character.

Acknowledging the dual nature of AI, Singh highlighted its vast potential and the challenges it poses.

"AI in general is a threat. AI has the patterns of all the people in the world. All dictionaries, from medical to engineering, everything is in the feed," he explained. Despite the looming concerns, Singh emphasized that every technological advancement, including AI, comes with its pros and cons.

Singh delved into his personal use of AI, particularly in the realm of music production. "I use audio in AI and AI in vocals. It is being worked on my voice too. Because we need to make a patent too, and we need to be prepared for it. If someone else uses my voice, I am ready to license it. I have no problem," he shared.

The singer expressed enthusiasm about the possibilities AI brings to the creative process. "It would be great because it's never about the voice; it is just about the singing," Singh mused.

He discussed the intricate process of sculpting his voice, comparing it to muscle building, and how AI could alleviate the challenges faced by vocalists in maintaining and experimenting with their unique tones.

“I have broken my voice. My voice was not like this before; it was entirely different. To get that older voice I have to leave everything for 2-3 months and then I can go back to that voice but people hated that voice. When I started singing in that voice, people didn’t like that voice at all. So I had to change my voice to kind of cut through. I had to break my voice and made textures. It’s almost like sculpting your voice. In a way I have tortured myself so my voice’s projection is different. It like muscle building for the voice,” he revealed.

Singh also addressed the issue of voice compatibility in playback singing.

"So many good singers, but their voices are not working – now I don’t know what that means – because my voice doesn’t go with Shah Rukh Khan – so it's just bizarre, it’s an illusion, it doesn’t make sense because they (actors) don’t sound like me when they talk," he shared, saying AI has potential to overcome limitations of traditional playback singing.

“So with AI a singer can move forward change his voice and produce something with AI. If a guitarist can use a Kemper and get a synthesizer sound out, then why shouldn’t a singer? They are also instruments,” he asserted and said that if we are “managing” living with several other threats then AI should not be any different.