AKB48 releases AI-generated single after fans preferred it to human-written song (www.cnn.com)

Japanese idol group AKB48 released an AI-generated single after a televised songwriting contest pitted veteran producer Yasushi Akimoto against an AI “Akimoto.” The AI — built on a version of Google’s Gemini and trained on Akimoto’s lyric catalog and public interviews to emulate his voice — produced “Omoide Scroll” (Memory Scroll), a techno-pop take on smartphone-era heartbreak. Viewers picked the AI song in a public vote: 14,225 votes to Akimoto’s human-written “Cecil,” which got 10,535. The result generated mixed reactions from the creator and fans: Akimoto expressed disappointment but had earlier said he’d welcome AI inspiration, while many fans praised the AI track as sounding commercially fresh for AKB48, the world’s largest pop group with over 120 rotating members. The outcome is significant for the AI/ML and music industries because it demonstrates that a modern generative model can convincingly mimic a specific songwriter’s style and win mainstream audience approval. Technically, the contest showcased transfer of an artistic “voice” by fine-tuning on an author’s corpus and public statements, producing culturally resonant output rather than just generic music. Beyond novelty, the episode raises practical questions about authorship, copyright, and creative workflows: AI can act as a hit-finding collaborator or competitive force, nudging established producers and pop acts toward hybrid human–AI songwriting pipelines and new production strategies.