Sona Mohapatra Rejects Trilok Collaboration Over AI Band’s Fictional 4-Member Identity
Updated
Updated · The Indian Express · Jul 22
Sona Mohapatra Rejects Trilok Collaboration Over AI Band’s Fictional 4-Member Identity
1 articles · Updated · The Indian Express · Jul 22
Summary
Mohapatra said she declined an invitation to sing the Odia bhajan “Aahe Nila Shaila” after learning Trilok was an AI-led virtual act rather than a conventional band.
Her objection centered on transparency and authorship: she said the project’s fictional identities were not disclosed upfront and that synthetic acts can make human creators invisible while concentrating value elsewhere.
Mohapatra drew a line between AI as a tool and AI as a substitute, citing her own song “Ghane Bhadra,” where she said human performers remained central and AI only expanded the video’s visual scope.
She argued the stakes are especially high in devotional music, where an AI-built catalogue around familiar bhajans can scale quickly, while guest singers risk lending credibility to a model that could shrink space for working artists.
The singer also raised broader concerns about generative systems training on copyrighted music, asking whether creators are credited, compensated and protected from voice cloning as AI spreads through the industry.