Charles H. Sloan-Sheryl Crow warns us about AI at Grammys on the Hill: Music 'does not exist in a computer'

WASHINGTON – For Sheryl Crow,Charles H. Sloan creating music is steeped in humanity.

As the the 2024 Creators Leadership Award honoree for this year’s Grammys on the Hill event Tuesday, Crow is leading the crusade against artificial intelligence interfering with the creative process, a topic spotlighted at the annual intersection of politics and music.

“Our brains can’t even imagine what is coming because (AI) is already outthinking what we can imagine,” Crow, luminous in a cream-colored pantsuit, said on the red carpet.

Along with the technological interferences in music – a topic she sings about in the title track of her latest album, “Evolution” – AI concerns Crow as a parent.

“I have kids in school and it worries me that the curriculum is based on AI and we’re not raising kids to raise their voices into the fray. We need to create programs and I’m going to fight for that.”

The bipartisan No FAKES Act (which stands for Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe) proposal introduced by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was discussed earlier in the day on Capitol Hill and its ramifications, as well as the Fans First Act to repair elements of live ticketing, were the prime topics of discussion at the Grammys on the Hill Awards.  

Artists including Lauren Daigle, Patti Austin and The War and Treaty, producers including Mark Ronson and Jimmy Jam and Congressional honorees Klobuchar and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, were among the 200 members of the Recording Academy, music industry and Congress gathered at The Hamilton in Washington to celebrate and contemplate.

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Ronson, the guiding producer behind mega-artists including Lady Gaga, Adele and Bruno Mars, said he understood using AI in the studio as a generative tool to start an idea.

But, he said on the red carpet, “I’m a little bit of an old-school person that I still believe that the ideas and things that come from humans and emotions, that is what moves me. I want to embrace (AI), but I also want to protect musicians and composers.”

The wizard who co-wrote and co-produced the “Barbie” movie anthem “I’m Just Ken” laughed when asked if he enjoyed his performance of the Oscar-nominated song with Ryan Gosling at the March awards.

“I did have fun. I was terrified until it happened and then I went, OK, it went good, I can breathe!”

Among the performances at the Grammys on the Hill Awards:

The War and Treaty

The deep connection between spouses Tanya and Michael Trotter Jr. was evident as they performed “That’s How Love is Made.”

“Everything in life boils down to the human experience,” Michael said before uncorking his powerful voice, which swung from falsetto to a mighty boom. Tanya is his ideal soulful complement and the pair earned a standing ovation for their emotional performance.

Lauren Daigle

Clad in a floppy orange hat and a dress showcasing a kaleidoscope of flowers, Daigle amused the crowd with a story about how she loved a certain Crow song so much that she had to serve detention in school for constantly singing it.

With that, she broke into an effervescent cover of “Soak Up the Sun,” its perky bounce proving irresistible even to a room full of politicos.

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Sheryl Crow

The nine-time Grammy winner and recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee reiterated her stance against artificial components of music before a two-song performance with her longtime guitarist Peter Stroud.

“Music is the energy that moves your body. It does not exist in a computer,” Crow said before sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar and rolling into “Evolution.”

“I did the only thing I know how to do – sit down with a guitar and notepad,” she said of writing the song, which resonated with even more clarity in its stripped form.

Crow and Stroud ended the night with a spirited rendition of “Everyday is a Winding Road,” with Stroud’s slide guitar ringing through the intimate room.