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Czech ice dancers Kateryna Mrazková and Daniil Mrazek made their Olympic debut on Monday, an unfathomable feat that requires a lifetime of dedication and practice. But the sister duo used AI music in their rhythmic dance show, which doesn’t break any official rules, but serves as a depressing symbol of how infinitely slow we are.
When Mrazek spun his sister around in a crazy move that made them look superhuman, one NBC commentator noted in passing, “This is the AI created, this is the first part,” referring to the music. Somehow, this admission is even more baffling than the gravity-defying tricks the siblings demonstrated under the pressure of Olympic ice.
The Olympic ice dancing competition is divided into two events: rhythm dancing, in which pairs must perform a routine that meets a specific theme, and free dancing. This season’s theme is ’90s music, dance styles and feel’. British ice dancing duo Lily Vere and Louis Gibson paid tribute to the Spice Girls, while US favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated to Lenny Kravitz’s medley.
But, for what reason – licensing issues? — Mrazkova and Mrazek danced a routine to music that was half AC/DC and half AI. This is strange. What’s even stranger is that this is not the duo’s first use of artificial intelligence, nor is it the first time this choice has backfired.
According to the International Skating Union, the governing body that oversees competitive figure skating, the duo’s choice of music for rhythm dancing this season was “One Two by AI (from the style of 90s Bon Jovi)” and “Thunderstruck by AC/DC.” The official Olympics website confirms that the duo uses the AI-generated song for the rhythmic dance segment.
The Czech siblings have faced backlash before for their use of AI-generated music. Earlier in the season, they played a ’90s-inspired song for their routine that began with a wailing declaration: “Every night we wreck a Mercedes-Benz!” If this sounds familiar, it’s because this lyric comes straight from the ’90s hit “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals (which, by the way, has an amazing music video filmed in a Staten Island mall – the true essence of American suburbia!).
The AI-generated lyrics also include the lines: “Wake up, children/I’ve caught the dreamer’s disease,” and “First we run, then we laugh until we cry.” What a coincidence! These lyrics also appear in the song “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals. The AI song is even titled “One Two,” which are the first lyrics to… You can probably guess the song at this point.
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Before the Olympics, the duo changed the song, replacing the New Radicals’ lyrics with AI-generated ones that sound suspiciously like Bon Jovi’s lyrics, as journalist Shana Bartels noted in November. For example: “Raise your hands, light up the night.” It also appears on Bon Jovi’s “Hands Up”…and the AI ”singer” sounds a lot like Bon Jovi as well. (Not to pour salt on the wound, but “Hands Up” isn’t even from the ’90s!) This was the music the duo danced to on Monday at the Olympics, before it turned into AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” a real ’90s song written by real people.
Although it’s unclear what software the team used to create this music, this LLM program works as it’s supposed to. LLMs are trained to access large music libraries, often through legally questionable means. When prompted, the LLM produces the most statistically likely response to an input. This is useful when writing code, but it means that a “Bon Jovi style” song will likely end up using some actual Bon Jovi lyrics.
However, the music industry seems fascinated, at least temporarily, with the idea of “musicians” who are not quite real. Telisha Jones, a 31-year-old from Mississippi, used Sono to compose her (hopefully real) verse under the character of Zania Monet. Now she has a record deal worth $3 million.
It is unfortunate that the achievement of these Czech dancers in skating at the Olympics has been marred by a discourse about their use of AI music (a discourse to which I actively contribute). But come on! Isn’t this sport supposed to be creative?
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