An AI-generated song using fake vocals from Drake and The Weeknd went viral two years ago, demonstrating how the rapidly progressing technology could disrupt the music industry's long-held standards, protections and processes.

Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards, is on the front lines as the industry pushes for legislation to protect artists from having their voices, images and likenesses used in AI-generated digital replicas without their consent.

WSJ’s Anne Steele spoke with the Grammys chief about his hopes and fears for AI in the record business.

Mason, a songwriter and producer who has worked with Whitney Houston, Beyoncé and Justin Bieber and written music for hit movies, says AI will totally upend the creative process. He’s excited that the technology will open new possibilities, for instance enabling musicians whose voices have been damaged to continue as singers.

Yet Mason also says he’s concerned that we haven’t yet figured out how to credit artists whose work has been used to create new AI music—and he worries that human musicians don’t have the tools to protect themselves.

In the future, Mason says it will be important for the music industry to work with AI companies to help set up guardrails for the technology to protect artists. "If music people are not involved in setting this up, it can be used in ways maybe even the founders have not intended, and people could be taken advantage of in ways they didn’t anticipate," he says.

More on this topic:

• Universal, Warner and Sony are negotiating AI licensing rights for music. (Read)
• How AI can help you find the perfect movies, albums and books. (Read)

🤔 How do you think AI will affect the way you listen to music? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions by hitting "reply" to this email.

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Two weeks ago, we reported on glasses with built-in hearing aids. Readers shared their thoughts on these next-generation specs:

• “Why wouldn’t you try glasses that help you hear? It’s funny, I remember years ago seniors would speak, then take off their glasses and wait…listening for a reply. Now, they will speak, then put on their glasses for a reply.”—Josh Merriman, Massachusetts
• “My father had a pair of glasses with a built-in hearing aid in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was stone deaf in his right ear, so these glasses had a microphone on the right side and a wire which ran through the frame to a speaker connected to a small tube which went into his left ear. They were made by an Australian hearing research centre—one of a kind, made especially for him. We used to say, ‘Dad put your glasses on! You can't hear us!’ He really was ahead of his time.”—Julianne Blain, Australia
• “I use expensive hearing aids, and I’m frequently frustrated by how inadequate they are in common situations. Since Nuance touted their use case of noisy restaurants, I decided to try them. Like other devices I’ve tried, turning up the volume also boosts your own voice—a problem that should be fixable via noise- and phase-cancellation. The built-in speakers on the temples were also kind of cheesy. Overall, at $1,200, I passed on further exploration. AirPods get my vote for low-to-moderate hearing loss, though they still don’t conquer the noisy restaurant issue. I guess restaurants themselves have to—and should—deal with that.”—Larry Goldberg, New York
• “As a techno geek, I’m always tempted to try anything new. Also, I think established hearing aid companies may get disintermediated, much like razor blade companies such as Harry’s did to Schick and Gillette. I paid $5,000 for my hearing aids: There’s lots of margin in these devices. As the cost of technology has declined, these companies may be ‘tone deaf’ to buyers’ willingness to try consumer-grade products instead of medical devices. A new generation of ‘silver-wave’ people who grew up with consumer technology will be more willing to try devices that may be viewed as ‘cool,’ as opposed to stigmatizing. Consumer brands have to think a bit more like medical device companies and vice versa.”—Renato Discenza, Canada

(Responses have been condensed and edited.)

• AI is making everyone on dating apps sound charming. (The Washington Post)
• Cloning came to polo, and then things got uncivilized. (Wired)
• AI may be coming for your job, but first it’s coming for your job interviewer. (The New York Times)

Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. This newsletter was written by Conor Grant. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com.

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