As AI becomes more sophisticated, musicians are facing a new challenge: proving their work is genuinely human-made. 26-year-old EDM producer Max “H4RRIS” Harris is one of the pioneers in this fight, calling out what he believes are AI-generated tracks and warning of a growing AI presence in the music industry.

Harris views AI as a decoy art form, believing that it is merely a tool for quick profits and not true art. He argues that true art is created by individuals who are trying to express feelings and messages, something he claims AI cannot do. His approach to making music is creative and experimental, involving hundreds of decisions that culminate in a sound that feels right.

One of Harris’ main concerns is the way AI often eliminates the need for a user to think creatively. He is also dismayed by the way AI posers are muddying listeners’ understanding of what human-made EDM sounds like. He points to examples such as MANSA’s “Midnight on My Mind” and Danny and Ian Asher’s “Take Me (To The Moon)” as potential AI-produced songs. These tracks often have a sharp hissing sound and stuttering vocals, which Harris uses as evidence to accuse artists of using AI.

While Harris holds AI production company Suno responsible for the recent increase in AI-generated tracks, he also credits it for helping him learn how to spot songs worth calling out. He notes that Suno-generated tracks often have vocals and melodic elements that start stuttering at the same time, something a human composer would not do. Visuals accompanying AI tracks can also prompt accusations of AI use, with characters' fingers vanishing in and out of existence in videos, for example.