The Illusion of “Authenticity”: Ethical Dilemmas and Aesthetic Imagination in Pop Music Creation in the Age of AI
Sitan Yang · Journal of Contemporary Art Criticism · 2025
With the widespread application of artificial intelligence (AI) in music creation, the creative logic, aesthetic paradigms, and power structures of pop music are undergoing profound transformations. This paper takes AI-generated music as its research focus, examining the controversies surrounding its generative mechanisms, aesthetic presentation, copyright ethics, and social practices. Drawing on real-world international research findings and policy documents, it explores the future of human-machine collaboration. The study finds that while AI can enhance creative efficiency, it also poses serious challenges to originality, authorship, and emotional authenticity. Constructing an ethical framework and rights recognition system adapted to the AI context is an urgent issue that demands scholarly attention and practical resolution.