Singer Armaan Malik and veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar talked with media about the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in music and creativity at the NDTV Yuva 2025 Conclave session called “The Voice of the Generation.”
Javed Akhtar, who is famed for his biting wit, said:
“I would pick AI over natural ignorance if I had to choose between the two. But that said, AI is still in its early stages and is still crawling. Right now, AI doesn’t pose a danger to creativity. It can compose letters for you, maybe to the city government, but being creative is a whole other story. Thank goodness I got away from that period.
Akhtar said that AI can’t yet copy human art because
“The trouble with AI is that it didn’t have a bad childhood. AI’s mother didn’t pass away when it was a child. AI’s girlfriend stayed with it. AI doesn’t have a subconscious, bad memories, or failed relationships. Creativity doesn’t just come from reasoning; it also comes from grief, heartbreak, and experiences that no computer has.
Singer Armaan Malik said that AI is a tool, not a replacement, which is what he said.
“AI can make a sad song if you ask for it, but only a person can really feel something.”
Malik also advised Congress to quickly deal with AI and copyright issues:
There isn’t any law yet about copyrighting vocals, whether they belong to Kishore da or modern artists. There are a lot of AI-generated covers on social media that use actual voices. There needs to be a robust layer of laws right now.
The session ended with everyone agreeing that AI is moving quickly, but the spirit of music is still based on human experience, which is an important part of art.