A Disney director tried – and failed – to use AI Hans Zimmer to create a soundtrack

Edwards, who ended up using real, flesh-and-blood human Hans Zimmer for his film’s soundtrack, said he played the AI-generated track back to the composer. Zimmer, he said, found it amusing. Zimmer could not be reached for comment.

Edwards’ experience speaks to an issue at the heart of one of the biggest fights facing Hollywood today. Artists and creatives are rising up against generative AI. Hollywood is currently at a standstill as actors and writers strike for fairer working conditions and the use of generative AI in the film industry. Authors and artists also fiercely object to claims that tech companies are stealing their intellectual property by indiscriminately scouring the web for images and text. Prominent artists such as comedian and author Sarah Silverman have sued AI companies for copyright infringement.

Music-generating AI is still in its early stages, which could explain why Edwards got the results he did, says Henry Ajder, an expert in generative AI.

“In my experience, fairly simple AI music is quite convincing. It’s difficult to tell the difference between an AI-generated composition and one made by a human,” he says.