John Lydon has shared his views on artificial intelligence, stating that he believes the increasingly-used technology to have "infiltrated young people’s minds now to the point of total domination".
In a new interview with The Guardian, Public Image Ltd's frontman is questioned on what he thinks of AI's growing impact on the arts, and in response, explains his worries over its moral implications and its potential erasure of individual autonomy.
"Who’s in charge and who’s feeding the information and giving the guidelines to these artifices?" the ex-Pistol questions.
“What or where is the moral code? It has infiltrated young people’s minds now to the point of total domination. What will this create?”
Instead, Lydon explains how he thinks we should remove the presence of AI from our lives now before its technology develops to the point where it ends up controlling our lives completely. "My advice is make small steps against this – and get that fucking Siri or whatever out of your house. It will ultimately make decisions for you, and that’s very dangerous.”
On a separate topic, referencing his lawsuit against former Pistols band members Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and Steve Jones over the use of Sex Pistol's music in Danny Boyle's TV series Pistol, he continues, "It’s misrepresentation and the rewriting of history done so casually. I’ve got to deal with real human beings doing that, let alone artificial intelligence taking over. That’s the other side of that coin."
Elsewhere, Lydon expresses his concerns over the American political landscape, stating how he believes the US to be veering closer to being ruled under a dictatorship due to President Joe Biden's reluctance to debate other Democratic nominees, and compares the situation to the increasing use of AI.
"This is very dangerous stuff because this is walking us completely into dictators, where you’re not allowed to question someone who wants to tell you how to live your life,” the vocalist says. "An artificially intelligent Joe Biden would be quite an issue. I find life quite hilarious.”
Lydon is the latest musician to vocalise his disapproval of AI, following Corey Taylor, Nick Cave and Sting, the latter of who believes that humanity will at some point be faced in "a battle we all have to fight" against it.
