- You’ve eaten ketchup in more than one color. Green, purple, you name it. You’ve had them all.
- You wished you grew up in a white house with a red door in San Francisco with an Uncle Jessie, Joey, and the rest of the "Full House" family.
- You owned a choker necklace. In multiple colors.
- You believed you would find your future boyfriend while playing the game “Mystery Date.”
- You owned a Super Nintendo. And then a Nintendo 64. And then a Gameboy Color. And then a Gameboy Advance.
- You thought jean mini skirts were the coolest bottoms to wear.
- Your basement was filled with Barbie, Ken, Kelly, their friends -- and their dream house of course.
- You had a collection of Beanie Babies. And Cabbage Patch Kids. And Ferbies.
- You thought you were the coolest person ever when your mom gave you her old cell phone to play with, even though it no longer worked.
- You were a master chef because of your Easy Bake Oven.
- When you wanted to watch a movie, you needed to rewind the VHS to the beginning because chances are the person before you didn’t.
- Your lunch table debates over hottest boy bands were between the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync.
- iPods didn’t exist. If you wanted to listen to music, you had to carry around your tape player, or your Walkman. One CD or tape at a time.
- You washed your hair with L’Oreal Kids shampoo and even though it says “no tears” on the bottle, it didn’t mean what you thought it meant because it burned your eyes like crazy.
- You traded Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards like you were a drug dealer.
- You wore scrunchies in your hair. And clips in every possible shape.
- You called your friends house and had to ask their parents, “Is so-and-so home?”
- During summertime, you rode bikes, played jump rope, and explored with your friends.
- Girls and boys played separately because they both had cooties.
- You owned the historical American Girl Dolls. Felicity, Samantha, Kirsten, Kit, etc.
- You made bookmarks by coloring on your pencil box and then putting glue over the color and waiting for it to dry.
- You wore those black platform sandals and thought you were so cool.
- The make-up you wore was lip smackers chap stick. In every flavor.
- You owned blow up furniture. Probably from Limited Two.
- You passed time in class by playing Heads Up 7 Up, MASH and making fortune tellers.
- You knew it was going to be a fun day in school when you saw your teacher wheeling in the TV.
- The TV probably showed an episode of "Bill Nye The Science Guy." Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!...
- Your favorite TV shows outside of school were "Rocket Power," "Rugrats," "Hey Arnold!," "Catdog," and "The Amanda Show."
- You owned every single Olsen twins movie (on VHS of course) and wished you had a twin because of it.
- There was a vending machine in your school that sold gel pens, and you owned every color.
- You used to play paper football at lunch.
- You went to the grocery store with your mom just so you could beg her to buy you a Baby Bottle Pop or Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape in the checkout line.
- You learned how to drive in a Barbie Jeep or Hot Wheels Car.
- You read the entire "Goosebumps" series by R.L. Stine (Ohio State Class of 1965!) and the entire Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Parks. “The B. stands for Beatrice, except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B. and that's all.”
- You finally felt like you were growing up when your parents set up your first email address on Kids AOL.
- You played cats cradle.
- You had a canopy over your bed.
- And beaded curtains in your doorway.
- You had one of those scrunchy shirts that were literally one size fits all.
- You owned a pair of toe socks. You could wear flip-flops with socks; what’s better than that?
- You had a bracelet or necklace that said best and your best friend had the matching one that said friend.
- You weren’t allowed to use the Internet when your parents had to use the phone because they couldn’t be used at the same time.
- You had Fisher Price roller skates, kneepads, and elbow pads. One day you upgraded to roller blades.
- You knew that drinking out of a curly straw would make your milk or juice more fun to drink.
- You only watched commercials on Nickelodeon in hopes that the monkey would appear and say, “Hi, I’m Paul.”
- You loved playing "school," "grocery store," and "pretend driving your mom’s car."
- You loved going to birthday parties because they usually involved giant ball pits or fast food restaurants with play areas.
- You spent hours on Disney Channel’s website playing games like Lilo and Stitch, Sandwich Stacker, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody Tipton Trouble.
- You owned a sequined purse.
- You had an amazing childhood and grew up right.
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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
StableDiffusion
The Illusion of Creativity
AI-generated music is often marketed as “artistic” or “educational.” But what does it really teach?
- That style can be replicated without understanding.
- That emotion can be simulated without feeling.
- That effort can be bypassed with a prompt.
For young creators, this sets a dangerous precedent. Why learn to play guitar when an algorithm can do it faster? Why study harmony when AI can generate chord progressions in seconds? The risk isn’t just laziness — it’s the loss of depth, discipline, and the tactile joy of creation.
I have listened to several AI-generated music covers. My initial reaction was one of considerable impressiveness, particularly regarding the reimagining of classic pop hits in diverse genres with novel arrangements. Here is one good example a-ha — Take On Me
However, after engaging with several such Ai generated song covers, a sense of emotional detachment emerged, attributable to the perceived absence of human artistry and genuine sentiment, resulting in a technically flawless yet ultimately soulless auditory experience.
Copyright in Crisis
What does the copyright law say about AI generated music, especially in field of music covers. Who is liable for copyright in this case, AI developers, people who used AI to generate music or people who published it on music platforms?
Recent lawsuits show that the music industry is pushing back hard:
- Universal, Sony, and Warner sued AI music platforms Suno and Udio in 2024 for allegedly training their models on copyrighted songs without permission Ars Technica The Lyon Firm.
- They’re seeking up to $150,000 per infringed song, arguing that the AI outputs resemble famous tracks and voices (e.g., Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson).
- These lawsuits target the developers of the AI tools — but they raise broader questions:The legal gray area is training data. Courts haven’t yet ruled definitively on whether using copyrighted songs to train AI counts as infringement or fair use Sites at USC.
But who’s liable?
Role | Legal Risk | Why |
AI Developers | ✅ High | For training on copyrighted material without licenses. |
Users | ⚠️ Moderate | If they intentionally recreate protected works. |
Publishers/Platforms | ✅ High | For distributing infringing content. |
The grey area lies in training data. Courts haven’t yet ruled definitively on whether using copyrighted songs to train AI counts as infringement or fair use. Meanwhile, AI-generated works themselves aren’t eligible for copyright unless a human provides substantial creative input — leaving them in legal limbo.
The Educational Mirage
Some argue that AI music helps people learn genres, production styles, or vocal techniques. But this “education” often lacks context. It’s like learning to paint by watching a printer — technically impressive, but creatively hollow.
True musical education involves:
- Struggle and iteration: Learning through mistakes.
- Emotional connection: Expressing what words can’t.
- Cultural lineage: Understanding the roots of sound.
AI shortcuts bypass all of this. And in doing so, they risk flattening the rich terrain of human creativity into a sterile landscape of algorithmic mimicry.
Why This Fight Matters
This isn’t just about music. It’s about the future of art, storytelling, and human expression. If we allow machines to dominate creative spaces, we risk turning culture into content — optimized, monetized, and devoid of soul.
We must ask: Do we want a world where art is made by machines, or one where machines help humans make better art?
5 Key Takeaways
- AI-generated music blurs the line between innovation and erosion in the creative arts
- AI-generated music raises questions about copyright, culture, education, and artistic expression
- AI-generated music can replicate style without understanding, simulate emotion without feeling, and bypass effort with a prompt
- AI-generated music sets a dangerous precedent for young creators by potentially leading to a loss of depth, discipline, and joy of creation
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