SEVENTEEN vocalist and producer Woozi has directly refuted claims made by BBC that the group made use of artificial intelligence (AI) to write their music.
BBC News published an article on July 11 exploring K-pop’s exploration of the use of AI. The article claimed that K-pop acts, including SEVENTEEN, have been using AI technology to produce music videos and write lyrics for songs.
The claim was later refuted by both Woozi himself – who writes and produces most if not all of SEVENTEEN’s music – and the band’s label, Pledis Entertainment on July 14. The K-pop singer took to his personal Instagram page to upload a blacked-out Story, writing in both English and Korean: “All of SEVENTEEN’s music is written and composed by human creators.”
Pledis also published an official statement refuting BBC’s claims, writing to Newsis: “It is not true that AI was used in SEVENTEEN’s song lyrics, and we have conveyed this to the foreign media outlets that reported this to correct the content.”
Although AI was not utilised in songwriting, SEVENTEEN have used AI – specifically robot motion technology – to produce some scenes in the music video for their most recent lead single ‘Maestro’, released in April.
In the press conference for its accompanying album, ’17 Is Right Here’, Woozi did mention his experiments with AI technology and how it has contributed to his understanding of music making and the technologies available.
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“Instead of dismissing [AI], I’m working in tandem with it. I look for its shortcomings and its strengths. Technology is advancing rapidly, so I think about how [SEVENTEEN] can maintain our unique identity in this context,” Woozi added during the press conference. He emphasised that the group did not use AI to produce any of their songs. BBC has since corrected their article to reflect Woozi’s latest statement.