By Michaela Gordoni
AI artist Solomon Ray, created by Christopher Jermaine Townsend, has a chart-topping song right now, but real artists are calling it “weird.”
The song “Find Your Rest” and the AI voice’s album, Faithful Soul, hit the top of iTunes’ charts simultaneously in less than three weeks, Relevant reported.
“At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it,” said Christian artist Forrest Frank. “So I think that’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.”
“It doesn’t hit the same way knowing someone wasn’t struggling with a real problem and turning to God for help and finding peace and then sharing testimony,” said Christian influencer @aprilorgill. “It’s a no for me. We make silly songs with AI for fun as a family sometimes but it makes me sick to hear something that is supposed to be sacred being fabricated by AI.”
The AI’s official Instagram account explained its view: “I get where some of y’all are coming from, but let’s be clear — AI isn’t replacing the heart of gospel music. It’s simply a new tool God allowed us to have. The message is still the message.”
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It added that creativity and the Gospel have evolved.
“The impact is still real. And the souls being reached don’t stop to check the ‘method’ first. Some people create with instruments, some with computers, and now some with AI. But if the fruit is good, the message uplifts, and people feel closer to God…why tear it down?”
In a video from Nov. 19, Townsend called himself “the man behind the machine.” He said, “This is an extension of my creativity, so therefore to me it’s art. It’s definitely inspired by a Christian. It may not be performed by one, but I don’t know why that really matters in the end.”
There is a real-life artist who goes by the name Solomon Ray, who says many are confusing the AI for his music, which he isn’t pleased about.
“Should Forrest and I reclaim Christmas from the robots?” he sarcastically commented.
The real Ray, who is a worship leader, says AI-generated music doesn’t belong in the church.
“How much of your heart are you pouring into this? If you’re having AI generate it for you, the answer is zero. God wants costly worship,” he said.
Whether for better or worse, lots of others are using AI to make tracks in various genres.
“I just feel like AI…it’s the new era that we’re in,” said, Telisha “Nikki” Jones, the woman behind AI voice Xania Monet. “And I look at it as a tool, as an instrument, and utilize it.”
We’re starting to wrestle with what authenticity, worship and creativity truly mean more and more. Will the argument ever end?
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