Are you listening to bots? Survey shows AI music is virtually undetectable

By Jaspreet Singh

(Reuters) -A staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs, a Deezer–Ipsos survey showed on Wednesday, underscoring growing concerns that AI could upend how music is created, consumed and monetized.

The findings of the survey highlight the ethical and economic tension facing the global music industry as AI tools capable of generating songs in seconds raise copyright concerns and threaten the livelihoods of artists.

The issue gained prominence earlier this year when AI band “The Velvet Sundown” sparked enough buzz to gain around one million monthly listeners on Spotify before people found out about its synthetic origins.

The study, which polled 9,000 people across eight countries including the U.S., UK