Paul McCartney says he used AI to create ‘the final Beatles record’

The Beatles are officially back, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence.

Sir Paul McCartney has created what he called “the final Beatles record,” using AI to resurrect the voice of John Lennon — who died more than 40 years ago.

“We just finished it up to be released this year,” the legendary singer said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 that aired Tuesday.

McCartney said the song began as “a demo that John (Lennon) had … we were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI, so that then we could mix the record as you would normally do.”

The new song was inspired by director Peter Jackson’s documentary “Get Back,” which also used AI to separate the voices of Beatles members from background noise: “(Jackson) was able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette … They tell the machine, that’s the voice, this is a guitar. Lose the guitar,” McCartney told the BBC.

The music icon also shared he was aware of AI being used to recreate the band members’ voices, like an AI generated cover of one of McCartney’s songs by the late Lennon. “All of that is kind of scary,” he said, “but exciting, because it’s the future.”

AI’s use in the music industry has been a hotly contentious issue, with record industry titans like Universal Music Group pushing back against its use and even taking down AI generated songs. Other artists, like Canadian musician Grimes, are embracing its use with open arms.

For now, it appears McCartney is following the trend. “There’s a good side to it, and then a scary side,” he continued to the BBC. “We’ll just have to see where that leads.”

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