// THE VERGE — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
Fender’s CEO seems to think your bandmates are just analog AI
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Bud Cole also compared learning cover songs to AI training data in a controversial interview.
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Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole gave an interview to T3 in May celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Telecaster with comments on AI and music that initially flew under the radar. But it has started making the rounds recently, pouring more fuel on an already raging fire of bad PR following the company pissing off basically the entire guitar-playing community by sending cease-and-desist letters to builders, claiming copyright of the Stratocaster body shape.
Some influential guitar YouTubers have even said they’re done buying Fender gear in the wake of the controversy. And Cole’s resurfaced comments comparing cover songs and bandmates to a sort of “analog AI have only sunk the company’s standing further among the loudest of its fans online.
T3 editor-in-chief Mat Gallagher’s feature mostly paraphrases Cole’s statements, and Fender did not immediately respond to a request for comment or clarification. But here are the relevant bits from the interview:
Cole’s philosophy is that AI in music is nothing new. “I think AI has existed in music as long as there’s been recorded music,” he says. While the biggest barrier to playing guitar is the time it takes to learn the instrument, it’s the second barrier, writing songs, where he believes AI plays a part.