Kyle M’s debut album, The Real Me, is out now on Stones Throw. After premiering music videos for “Kid on the Range” and “Blue Car”, Kyle Mooney’s musical alter ego is back with a visual for “Digital Society”, a plea to “put down your phone, and turn off the TV”. It doesn’t come without controversy though, as fans and critics alike have taken to the comments sections across social media platforms to voice their displeasure with the use of “Artificial Intelligence” to create the music video. Kyle has responded below.
Listen: Kyle M – The Real Me
Buy Vinyl: Kyle M – The Real Me (Nature Brown Edition)
[UPDATE] A statement from Kyle M:
“This is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to write. As most of you know, I am currently going viral, but for the wrong reasons. My latest video for the song “Digital Society” used a new technology that poses serious issues, and I just want to say – I’m sorry.
The technology is called A.I., or Artificial Intelligence. I was not initially aware of A.I., my friend Riley showed it to me, and I decided this idea could bring more awareness to serious problems with today’s world. I take full responsibility for doing it Riley’s way and I feel truly terrible.
The thing that kills me is the song Digital Society is about moving away from technology and embracing nature. I now realize the Riley video did the opposite, centering me and my music in a much bigger conversation.
If you watch the two videos I made without Riley (“Blue Car” and “Kid on the Range”), there’s no A.I., and I couldn’t be more proud of those videos. That’s the type of work I want to do going forward, and I can assure you Riley or this older brothers will not be involved.
I have decided that I’m going to keep the Digital Society video online as an example of what not to do, and I would encourage you to share Riley’s video with your friends and family, along with the better videos I did by myself, so they can see the difference between right and wrong. The more viral these videos are, the more we’ll finally understand about hte dangers of using the technology Riley uses.
I’m going to do better. As always, thank you for listenin’ and just know I’m always listenin’ back.”
