RONNIE ROMERO Says A.I. Is 'An Incredible Tool' But 'Technology Will Never Be Able To Completely Replace The Human Element'

Singer Ronnie Romero, who forged a formidable reputation over past few years with his work with Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW and Michael Schenker, among other projects, has weighed in on a debate about people using an A.I. (artificial intelligence) music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence (A.I.) algorithms and machine learning (M.L.) models.

Earlier today (Saturday, August 8),Ronnie took to his social media to share an A.I.-generated image of himself, and he included the following message: "This photo was created with AI. At first glance, it looks amazing… but if you look a little closer, you'll realize that it's actually not me. Or it just doesn't seems 'right'. And I think something similar happens with music.

"As a tool, I think AI is fantastic. It can be incredibly useful for developing ideas, experimenting, and exploring directions we might not have thought of otherwise. But in my opinion, it will never be exactly the same as something created by a human being.

"Lately, when I work on collaborations, I sometimes receive vocal lines created with AI. And I have no problem with that — sometimes the musician simply doesn't sing that well. But I always warn them that I'll probably change a few things: a melody here, an interval there, a few little adjustments…Why? Because it simply doesn't always sound natural.

"There are things a human voice does organically that are extremely difficult to reproduce artificially. And a voice is not just a technically well-written melody. It's also emotion, feeling, intention… Your mood, your energy, your tiredness, the way you feel in that particular moment — all of it makes a difference.That's why, even if an AI-generated song can sound incredible, I still believe it will never be better than something written and performed with a human heart and mind. Because the voice and soul of a human singer aren't simply data that can be reproduced on a massive scale. Every voice is different. Every singer is different. Every person is their own world. And somehow, all of that ends up being reflected in the music.

"I'm not against AI. Quite the opposite — I think it's an incredible tool, and we're only beginning to discover what it can do. But I believe there's something technology will never be able to completely replace: the human element."

In the age of artificial intelligence, music can be hard to distinguish as being created by humans. Last year, a rock band called THE VELVET SUNDOWN reached viral streaming success on Spotify with its song "Dust On The Wind". Both the band and the song were generated by A.I. Also in 2025, the A.I.-generated song, "Walk My Walk" by BREAKING RUST topped Billboard's Country Digital Sales chart.

A study published last November by the streaming app Deezer estimated that 50,000 A.I.-generated songs were being uploaded to the platform every day — 34% of all the music submitted.

Earlier this year, Spotify introduced new verification badges on artist pages in an effort to help listeners distinguish human musicians from the growing wave of artificial intelligence-generated music on streaming platforms.

"In the A.I. era, it's more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to," Spotify said in a post on its web site.

"Listeners need to trust that the artists they're listening to are real artists building careers in music," Ashley Graver, Spotify's head of global artist partnerships, added in a video message on Spotify News' Instagram account.

In recent months, a number of high-profile musicians, including Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa, have led the charge for A.I. regulations as multiple petitions have been launched to ban the use of A.I. in certain areas.

Romero, who is originally from Chile but is now settled in Romania after living in Madrid, Spain for a number of years, made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected to front the latest version of the band Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

In addition to RAINBOW, Romero has recorded and/or toured with MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, LORDS OF BLACK, THE FERRYMEN, ELEGANT WEAPONS, SUNSTORM and VANDENBERG.

Photo credit: Unai Endemaño Photography (courtesy of Frontiers Music Srl)