Electric Light Orchestra fans remain split on the band’s use of artificial intelligence during the Over and Out live shows.
Jeff Lynne, 76, confirmed the band will play their final show together at Hyde Park in London next year. But the conclusion of their Over and Out US leg left some fans uncomfortable or annoyed as visual backdrops used in the show were made using A.I. tools.
Footage of the artificial intelligence was posted to Instagram by movie director Eddy Ray, who dubbed the designs an “abomination” and asked whether something as important as a band member would be replaced by artificial intelligence, arguing that “by condoning this art, you took jobs away from real animators who could’ve delivered you something of true quality and merit worthy of this farewell tour.”
One comment on the Instagram reel agreed, reading: “My favourite artist once said it’s not about AI images looking weird or the environmental effects or even putting some hypothetical artist somewhere out of a job, but if you use GenAI for a project it shows you don’t care about what you’re presenting beyond how long it takes to type something in a text box. Any artistic integrity or vision is completely lost.”
Fans of the band have since taken to the r/ELO Subreddit and are continuing to question the use of artificial intelligence in the ELO shows on the US tour. One user asked: “Why the AI? The generative AI stuff they used for their animations were pretty terrible and looked like bad Dali stuff from two years ago.
“They really should’ve thought about paying an artist or a few of them to take on the work they wanted because damn, this was bad.” Some were unbothered by the use of artificial intelligence in the show, with one writing: “Probably because Jeff Lynne is now 76 years old and probably light years away from any online discourse about AI and artists. My guess is he simply thinks it’s a pretty cool new thing.”
Another user replying to their comment disagreed, however, suggesting Lynne may not have any say in the artistic direction of the band’s stage presence. They wrote: “I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t even aware of it. He probably just lets the art teams do their thing.”
Those who attended the US gigs revealed they quite liked the visuals, which were dubbed “lazy” in a previous post to the page. One comment reads: “I liked it! It was fun to watch the visuals. Strange Magic was especially pretty, along with of course the POV spaceship navigation during One More Time!”
The use of artificial intelligence remains contentious among fans, with another writing: “The ai stuff sucked. The visuals created entirely by humans during songs like One More Time and Showdown were fantastic, though! Hopefully the ELO team sees this feedback and replaces the ai visuals for the final few shows.”
