Xania Monet Sparks Debate After Becoming First 'AI Artist' To Debut On Billboard Chart

Artist Xania Monet's original song "How Was I Supposed To Know?" made news when it appeared on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart. New artists chart all the time, but Xania Monet is no usual singer.

Xania Monet is a completely AI-generated "artist" created by Mississippi-based poet and songwriter Telisha “Nikki” Jones. Jones uses her poetry for the lyrics, but uses AI music-generator apps to create the music and vocals.

And it's that detail that's causing controversy.

AI-generated art is based off samples taken from real artists, often without their knowledge or consent or under duress. Voice actors, studio musicians, and studio singers have noted contracts now include AI clauses requiring them to consent to having their work sampled as a condition of employment.

Xania Monet's music and vocals are all an amalgamation of other people's work being pieced together by the apps Jones is using. This practice raises questions about intellectual property rights that deep fakes are also raising.

Does an artist own their voice, music, or visual artwork? Does an actor or model own their face, body, or voice? What about non-professionals? Can AI sample any of your online content to create a profit source for someone else, like Xania Monet does for Jones?

Jones has defended her creation.

Others disagree.

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Some questioned the songs popularity versus promotion.

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Some debate that AI is similar to when DJs or singers sample existing works for their remixes. Rappers like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer found themselves in court after sampling the works of David Bowie, Queen, and Rick James.

But others disagree, claiming the remix is an original idea by an actual artist that leaves the original still intact enough to be recognized. AI might resemble a specific artist, but there's no way to credit whose original art has been sampled.

As AI permeates culture, ethical questions will continue to arise. For now, the public can use the power of the purse to decide to consume AI content or boycott it.