The BBC recently stirred controversy after releasing a now-viral article that delves into SEVENTEEN’s potential use of AI in their latest song. The article , released on Thursday, was written by Megan Lawton and titled, “Will K-pop’s AI experiment pay off?” which discussed the emergence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the K-pop genre. The article included opinions of K-pop super fans and a producer who worked with different K-pop groups, where they expressed their fears of the industry experimenting with K-pop, but also hesitantly welcomed its presence while suggesting ways of regulating it.
One part of the article that sparked a chord with K-pop fans, specifically with SEVENTEEN’s fandom CARATs, was the initial assertion that SEVENTEEN had used AI in their most recent album- “MAESTRO.” This assumption came up following a review of what Woozi, SEVENTEEN’s resident producer and composer of a large majority of the group’s songs, had said in the press conference for “MAESTRO.” Woozi said at the time that he had practiced with AI, “Rather than feeling uncomfortable about developing tools, I feel like we should walk alongside them.
I practiced a lot and tried to find its pros and cons. I ponder a lot how we can still keep our identity..
” This comment was said at a time when CARATs also voiced out their opinions on the use of AI in SEVENTEEN’s music video for “MAESTRO,” with the boy group eventually answering all those concerns with the music vide.