Much of my day is spent sitting at a computer writing, and in recent years I’ve most often accompanied this by long (or live) YouTube videos that offer background sound without being too distracting. There are all kinds of options: scenic railway journeys, TV show tunes, piano instrumentals of songs I like, the sounds of forest rain, movie soundtracks, walks across game worlds, and more.
In recent months though, AI-generated mixes with AI-generated thumbnails have become much more prevalent. Run a quick search for study and chill-out music and you’ll find plenty of videos where the artwork looks suspiciously like something ChatGPT would make and the audio track is what you’d expect to get out of an app such as Suno.
It’s harder than ever to spot AI-made content, especially when it comes to simpler, more minimal creations—like illustration-style images or lo-fi chill-out music. I don’t want to listen to AI music, so at the start of each day I’m now clicking around warily on YouTube trying to find something that has been composed and packaged by actual people. It’s not easy anymore, but it’s still possible.
The problems with AI music
AI content strikes again
Credit: Lifehacker
I’m not completely against the idea of AI, though I think there are some major problems with it that we’re not properly reckoning with. Gemini AI might give you a better search result for “the best restaurants in San Francisco for young kids” than a list of 10 blue links, but it still relies on human experience and writing. The AI has never had kids or been to San Francisco, so what happens to those results when actual people stop writing and publishing on the internet?
When it comes to music, I don’t want to listen to tunes put together by machines, based on algorithms and the mashing together of real work done by real artists. You could argue that it doesn’t really matter so much for background electronica that’s being put on while working or studying, but the principle is the same.
There’s a line in the Westworld TV show where one humanoid robot, virtually indistinguishable from a real person, asks the question: “If you can’t tell, does it matter?” We’re now at the stage where we often can’t tell the difference between AI and human content, but I’d argue that the difference does still matter—and matters a lot.
Aside from all the considerations about energy use, environmental damage, and copyright infringement that come along with AI (and which would all take an entire article to cover), I think there are numerous ways that the tech can be helpful. When it comes to art and music, however, I want my clicks and listening time to support actual artists.
It’s something that YouTube is aware of. On some videos you’ll now see a How this content was made section, disclosing the use of AI. The problem is, this relies on either the content creator owning up to it, YouTube’s own AI tools being used, or AI watermarks being included in the files. Based on what I see on the platform, I don’t think much of the AI content is being flagged.
Finding music made by real artists
Welcome to Coulou’s Vinyl Cafe
Credit: Coulou / YouTube
So I’m left in a situation where I’d rather not listen to channels where the artwork or the music is AI-generated, but it’s difficult to spot something that’s made by AI. What I’ve started doing is looking for the channels that are definitely curated and produced by human beings, rather than trying to identify subtle signs of AI.
You’ll actually see it a lot in channel titles and video descriptions now, so you could just search for “no AI” or “AI free.” It’s also worth digging into the descriptions to look for links to the actual music used and the artists who are being supported. Check up on the history of the channel, too—what other videos does it offer? How are they made? If there are real flesh-and-blood human performers in the video, then that’s ideal.
What do you think so far?
As already mentioned, YouTube has its AI labels, but I wouldn’t rely on them to any great extent. If you can’t find evidence of how the music is being made or who’s behind it, and there are no links to actual recordings or artists (or footage of the music being made), then at this point I think it’s safer to assume it is AI rather than not.
My favorite non-AI Youtube music channels
One of the best and longest-running channels in the business in this category is Lofi Girl, which has been around since 2017, way before the generative AI boom. It was founded by a real record producer (Dimitri Somoguy), with an iconic character drawn by a real person (Juan Pablo Machado)—you can read about it on Wikipedia.
There are also now a growing number of channels that position themselves as containing no AI. One of my favorites is Yellow Cherry Jam: The videos here feature a man, a woman, a dog, and plenty of scenic backdrops. It’s all very relaxing—and real.
I also like Coulou’s Vinyl Cafe, where our man Coulou wanders around his apartment putting on one great record after another. The music is all listed and shown off in the video, and as good as AI video generation has become now, there’s no way it could create an hour of this without a chair leg disappearing or a jumper changing color.
Judging by many of the comments under those videos I’ve linked, AI-free music and AI-free YouTube channels are something a lot of other people are looking out for too: They are there, if you look for them. I’ve now built up a long enough playlist that I’m confident of not running into AI anytime soon, and it sounds great.
