According to Cointelegraph, The Beatles have released what they're calling their 'last song' featuring vocal tracks of the late John Lennon developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) on Nov. 2. 'Now and Then' was released by Universal Music Group (UMG) and was accompanied by a short documentary detailing how they came to create the track using new technologies. The video explains how director Peter Jackson developed software while working on his comprehensive Beatles documentary 'Get Back' that allowed the team to uncouple John's vocals from his piano part in the original cassette tape recording of 'Now and Then' from the late 1970s that Lennon initially made as a demo.In a separate interview, the track's co-producer Giles Martin explained that AI can be taught to recognize voices. Paul McCartney, one of the four original Beatles members, said after they heard of Jackson's new technology they 'better send John's voice to them off the original cassette.' Thus the new track got off the ground with a little help from AI. John Lennon's son Sean Ono Lennon commented in the video that his dad 'would've loved that because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology.' The track features the two remaining members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the late George Harrison.In a recent survey of musicians conducted by Pirate music studios, 53% of respondents said they have 'concerns about how their audience might perceive music created with the assistance of AI.' The survey also inquired why musicians were reluctant to use AI, with 58% reporting that 'loss of authenticity' was the primary concern.
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