Muki Rejects AI in Music: 'Let's Deal With Natural Stupidity First'
Israeli singer Muki strongly rejects AI in music during a candid interview, contrasting with global artists like David Guetta and Paul McCartney who embrace it.
Before the current era, the path to producing and hearing music was straightforward and absolute: the physical presence of musicians in the moment. Music production relied entirely on natural acoustics, hall architecture, and the human engineering of instruments—from ancient bone flutes to the complex resonance boxes of violins and pianos.
To create power, depth, or a different tone color, old-world producers could not use mixers or effects; every mix was determined by the spatial arrangement of musicians, the volume of the orchestra, and the relationship between various instruments within the room. Today, however, we are increasingly exposed to artists who, with the rise of artificial intelligence, are beginning to use it to produce music. Advanced algorithms capable of composing, arranging, and even synthesizing instruments and human voices at the click of a button are replacing giant halls, spatial arrangements, and delicate studio channel distributions.
AI is becoming a creative partner in every sense: it allows producers to create complex arrangements within seconds, separate channels from existing sound textures, and explore musical ideas that previously required days of recording and an entire crew of musicians. Yet not all creators are rushing to embrace the digital trend. One of the leading and most recognized artists in the Israeli music and entertainment industry—Muki (Danny Niv), who started his journey in the band Sheva S and became one of Israel's most prominent solo singers and creators with hits like "Yeled Shel Aba" and "Medabrim Al Shalom"—presents a resolute and completely different stance.
In a candid interview on the podcast "Musical Chairs" hosted by Ido Porat on 99FM radio, the veteran musician explained why he flatly refuses to approach the new technology. When host Ido Porat asked Muki if he uses popular tools like ChatGPT or Gemini, his answer was decisive: "Never. Nothing. I don't touch it, I don't get close." When asked what lies behind this distance, he simply replied: "Because I don't want to. Leave me alone. If I want to know something, I ask the kids."
The singer and creator further clarified that he does not believe these tools hold added value for him: "I also don't think it will teach me what I need. It's called AI? There is no intelligence in it whatsoever." Muki sharpened his worldview with a sharp remark: "Let's deal with Natural Stupidity before we talk about Artificial Intelligence—let's handle natural stupidity first, and only then artificial intelligence."
Beyond personal use, Muki's greatest rejection comes precisely from acquaintances who use music generation platforms like Suno, creating songs that mimic his voice and style. "They send it and are sure you'll flip out over it too," Muki shared regarding his harsh feelings upon seeing the result. "But I hear it and my whole body shrinks. I shrink and say to myself, yo, what is this thing?"
In contrast to Muki and his cynical view of AI's place in our lives and the music world in particular, there are quite a few artists and producers in the global and local industry who actually welcome the entry of the new tool and warmly embrace it. From their perspective, AI is not a substitute for human soul and emotion, but an innovative working tool that expands the boundaries of creation.
For example, superstar and DJ David Guetta created a stir when he featured a segment in a performance where an algorithm recreated rapper Eminem's voice, declaring it to be the future of the music world. Members of the Beatles (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) also used advanced AI technology to clean and isolate the late John Lennon's voice from an old recording—allowing them to finish and release their final song, "Now and Then." Another intriguing angle regarding the use of AI in music was presented by Canadian singer Grimes, who went a step further by offering creators the freedom to use her voice via AI in exchange for a royalty split.
For these artists, artificial intelligence does not threaten art, but constitutes a natural evolutionary step. This gap between Muki's position and the wave of artists who have adopted the technology reflects one of the most dramatic debates taking place in the cultural world today. On one side stands the approach that sanctifies human touch, sweat, and accidental error in the rehearsal room—and on the other side, the approach that sees technology as a limitless creative accelerator. Ultimately, the debate is not just about the tools used to create music, but about the most fundamental question of all: can an algorithm ever replace the human heart and story behind every hit?
