Why Sheryl Crow’s New Single Freaks Me Out
Sheryl Crow just dropped a new single. And frankly, it doesn’t give me any of the good feels. Don’t get me wrong, the song is awesome. Duh, it’s Sheryl Crow. She’s an amazing singer and songwriter. There’s nothing wrong with the production quality of this single. Her lyrics are on point. The instrumentation is great. There’s an amazing guitar solo by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello. I have no complaints about any of that.
It’s the subject matter of Crow’s new single that freaks me out. Evolution shines a spotlight on artificial intelligence and the negative effects it could have on humankind.
Yes, A.I. has been amazing in helping the human race progress. In the advancement of renewable energy generation and medical science, to name a few areas of success. But in her new single, Sheryl Crow addresses the presence of A.I. in places like music. Places that, in my opinion, it shouldn’t be. Music, or art, or anything that is meant to be an expression of the human heart and soul. Because A.I. has neither.
And from her lyrics in Evolution, it seems Crow has concerns as well. The line “Is it beyond intelligence, as if the soul need not exist” (lyricsfa.com) is a haunting invitation for listeners to think. To ask ourselves where the limit should be when it comes to what we let A.I. accomplish. Where do we draw the line between advancement of the human race and making humankind obsolete?
What I love about this song is that Crow opens it with a personal commentary on how A.I. affects her as a musician. She speaks of hearing what sounds like herself on the radio. But knowing it’s not her. The implication is that it’s an A.I. version of her. And not one she welcomes.
Yes, artificial intelligence can do amazing things beyond the intellectual capacity of humans.
That’s why it’s called artificial INTELLIGENCE. But using this technology to replicate things powered by human emotion… does nothing more than take the most essential element out of it. The humanity. The very thing that connects us and makes us feel less alone in this world.
Crow says it best in this line: “No matter how well you can outdo me, There is one thing you will never do and it’s feel” (lyricsfa.com). Maybe it’s these lyrics combined with the ethereal quality of the instrumentation. But something about this song puts me in a place where I’m looking back at the human race, or what’s left of it. Full of sorrow and regret. Maybe forcing that image was Crow’s intention all along.
One thing I do know is that I agree with Crow on where we will find the solutions for what’s most deeply plaguing our world. And it’s not in artificial intelligence. It’s deep in the heart of humankind.
