Nick Cave uses AI for 'Tupelo' 40th anniversary music video

Nick Cave has shared his new video for 'Tupelo', which uses artificial intelligence to bring archival images of Elvis Presley to life. This is despite the artist being vocal on his reservations about the use of AI within music.

The video for 'Tupelo' was made by filmmaker Andrew Dominik and was released to mark the song's 40th anniversary. The track tells the tale of the birth of Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Cave has made his thoughts on AI very clear in the past, calling it "utterly disturbing," and "grotesque mockery of what it is to be a human," adding that ChatGPT should "fuck off and leave songwriting alone."

The singer/songwriter took to his blog The Red Hand Flies Newsletter on Tuesday, to give insight on his decision to use AI in the video.

"The AI-animated photographs of Elvis had an uncanny quality, as if he had been raised from the dead, and the crucifixion-resurrection images at the end were both shocking and deeply affecting," read the blog.

"Susie (Cave's wife) and I were blown away. As I watched Andrew’s surreal little film, I felt my view of AI as an artistic device soften. To some extent, my mind was changed.”

The singer then clarified his stance on AI:

"For anyone reading these files, it will be clear that I have serious reservations about AI, particularly regarding writers using ChatGPT and other language models to do their creative work. I also have concerns about song-generating platforms that reduce music to a mere commodity, by eliminating the artistic process and its attendant struggles entirely."

• You can check out the AI video for 'Tupelo' below