TED Tech Is AI ruining music? | Dustin Ballard
7 snips
Dec 5, 2025 
Join Dustin Ballard, a musician and social media creator known for his YouTube channel 'There I Ruined It,' as he explores the intersection of AI and music. He questions what makes music 'real' and shares his AI-generated faux David Bowie blues to examine authenticity. Dustin reveals how he blends his fiddle playing with AI to create parody mashups, discusses the ethics of AI use in music, and argues that these technologies can expand creative opportunities. He even dreams up innovative sound possibilities while keeping the fun alive with a humorous Nickelback mashup!
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Using AI To Lovingly Ruin Songs
- Dustin Ballard describes his channel There I Ruined It and how he uses AI to 'lovingly destroy' songs as a hobby alongside his day job in advertising.
- He plays AI-altered covers (like Conway Twitty singing 50 Cent) to illustrate how he blends real performance with AI voice models.
Historical Parallels To AI In Music
- Dustin connects historical debates about recorded music's authenticity to today's questions about AI-generated music.
- He argues that when musicians use AI as a tool, AI can produce 'real' music worthy of artistic attribution.
Mixing Real Performance With AI Voices
- Dustin explains he recorded real instruments himself but ran his impersonation vocals through a custom AI model trained on Conway Twitty's voice.
- He contrasts songs where he augments his own voice with AI versus pieces created entirely by AI from text prompts.