Celine Dion has taken to social media to alert her fans that some unscrupulous music makers are using artificial intelligence to create “fake” songs that copy her voice.
“It has come to our attention that unsanctioned, AI-generated music purporting to contain Celine Dion’s musical performances, and name and likeness, is currently circulating online and across various Digital Service Providers,” a statement attributed to the Canadian singer read on her Instagram page.
“Please be advised that these recordings are fake and not approved, and are not songs from her official discography.”
Dion shocked fans last week when she gave an impromptu performance of her smash hit song My Heart Will Go On during a TGL golf match in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
When ESPN’s Marty Smith asked the six-time Grammy winner, “Which song from your catalogue best represents your golf game?” Dion listened to suggestions from the crowd before giving her answer.
Breaking into her well-known song, with a little help from Smith, Dion replied, “I would say, ‘Near… far… wherever you are… I believe that my ball will go on.”
Off camera, SportsCenter host Matt Barrie then waded into the long-argued Titanic debate over the ending of the film, saying, “Can I get something off my chest? Rose was so selfish to push Jack off the floating door. I’ve never gotten over that.”
Dion’s surprise performance comes months after she sang Edith Piaf’s Hymne A L’Amour during last year’s Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Meanwhile, Dion’s warning to listeners about the unauthorized AI-generated songs comes after other notable names in the music world cautioned fans about the dangerous of technology.
Last year, Stevie Wonder, Miranda Lambert, Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Peter Frampton, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson, J Balvin, and more called on AI tech companies, developers, platforms, digital music services and platforms to stop using AI “to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
“This assault on human creativity must be stopped,” a letter signed by more than 200 artists read. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”
Actress Scarlett Johansson also criticized “the misuse of AI” after a deepfake video of her and other celebrities, created with AI, widely circulated on social media last month.
The video showed Johansson wearing a T-shirt featuring a hand and middle finger extended, a Jewish star and Kanye West’s name in response to the rapper’s antisemitic outburst, but it was not real.
“It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an AI-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an antisemitic view, has been circulating online and gaining traction,” Johansson said in a statement obtained by CNN. “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”