AI slop has consumed Facebook, is running Wikipedia editors ragged, is rapidly destroying Google search, probably put an extra finger on the scales of election influence, is confusing and annoying crafters, steals endlessly from authors, is on its way to demolish YouTube comment sections, and will probably end up in a movie theater near you sooner than you think. But if you're streaming Christmas music today, did something seem a little off to you? If so, there's a very good chance you've been listening to AI-generated carol-slop.
As spotted by video game developer Karbonic, YouTube compilation videos are sneaking AI generated songs into their mixes.
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If I put this on in the background while doing something else, I might not think anything of it. But there are points in the one hour 18 minute video that give it away as AI: "O Little Town of Bethlehem," around the 36:55 mark, is the lyrics of that song but the melody of "Silent Night." If you compare it to an actual recording of Nat King Cole singing "O Little Town," the difference is even more obvious. Once you start noticing the warped tunes, they're hard to un-hear. "Oh Holy Night" is listed in the video as being by "Nei Diamond," who as far as I can tell doesn't exist, or is a typo of Neil Diamond, who is definitely not the singer in the song on this compilation. "The First Noel," attributed here to Nat King Cole, is either an undiscovered recording where Nat and the choir run some really wild riffs, or is AI.
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A quick search around the internet to see if anyone else has encountered other holiday-flavored AI slop turned up a recent Reddit thread where people were complaining about seemingly fabricated Spotify artists haunting retail workers during an already agonizing season. They list Dean Snowfield, North Star Notesmiths, Sleighbelle, Frosty Nights, The Humbugs, Snowdrift Sleighs, and Daniel & The Holly Jollies as artists on Spotify that have snuck into Christmas playlists but have little to no trace of a career outside of the streaming platform. Some of them, like several of Dean Snowfield's songs, sound like midi mixes with a stilted voice singing the lyrics. These artists make it onto huge, popular playlists like "Old Christmas Music" alongside real songs. It's honestly hard to tell whether these artists are AI-generated or just mass produced. But their Spotify artist bios often have the same exact text, or follow this pattern:
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