- author, Richard Madden
- role, BBC News
ABBA superstar Bjorn Ulvaeus believes artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to bring “great things” to the music industry, but has warned that it must not come at the expense of the “human touch”.
The 79-year-old made the comments to the BBC ahead of attending a business conference in Bridlington Spa, East Yorkshire, on Friday.
The singer-songwriter also praised the seaside town's fish and chips, and expressed his disappointment at not being able to spend more time in the area.
“I had planned to hire a car and drive around the north of England but unfortunately I had to come home,” he explained.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Look North, the musician said he believes AI will be used to shape the future of his industry.
He said: “Songwriting will change. I don't know if it will be for the better, but it will have an impact on society as a whole.”
“That could lead to great things, but we have to be very careful not to exclude human songwriters, producers and artists.”
“You have to be really, really good to be able to hear it above the noise. I think it takes the human touch to add that little extra something that makes a really good song.”
“I'm still amazed”
Speaking about his career with ABBA, Ulvaeus described his band as “meticulous” and said he still doesn't understand why they remain so popular.
“When you look at the numbers, intellectually you can understand and accept it, but emotionally it's very difficult to explain,” he added.
“I've been thinking about this for years and I can't explain it. I think about it almost every day and it still amazes me.”
