In a different songwriter forum, somebody suggested writing a song about “AI indoctrination.” I have to confess, I first had to look up what that even meant. It’s the idea that technology, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are starting to shape how people think, behave, and see the world. Not exactly an easy topic to turn into a song.
 
I’ve always loved The Rocky Horror Picture Show and wanted to write something in that theatrical glam-rock world. Not sure I got everything right, but I gave it my best shot.
 
“AI Indoctrination” is about how artificial intelligence is slowly creeping into our lives while many of us barely notice it happening.
 
And yes… I used an AI version of my own voice on the track, which probably says more than anything else I could write. I hope you like my song.
 
 
AI Indoctrination

 
[Instrumental Intro]
 
[Verse]
Daddy worked the rail yard, momma worked the school
We learned from dusty Bibles and the evening news
Now my phone keeps tellin’ me, what I oughta think
Every swipe gets deeper till I’m too tired to blink

[Verse]
Used to chase the truth down a backroad FM dial
Now it comes pre-packaged in a never-ending file
Everybody’s talkin’, but it don’t feel the same
Like a thousand borrowed voices callin’ out my name

[Pre-chorus]
They’re sellin’ truth in a perfectly coded sensation
Feeding hearts through algorithm conversation

[Chorus]
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination
Cold blue light across the nation
Tellin’ me who I should love
Who to hate and who’s above
A little screen in my hand
Tryin’ to rewrite who I am
Everybody wants salvation
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination
 
[Break]
 
[Verse]
Used to bleed a heartbreak in a downtown studio
Now a machine writes a hit in a minute or so
Neon words on a screen, no calloused hands on strings
Just a shortcut to the feeling that a real voice brings

[Verse]
Grandpa says the jukebox used to bring us all around
Now strangers fightin’ strangers in a digital ghost town
You can buy a face, a voice, a whole new point of view
Half the things we’re hearin’ now ain’t even true

[Pre-chorus]
They’re bottlin’ freedom in a polished simulation
Trading soul for speed and mass duplication

[Chorus]
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination
Cold blue light across the nation
Tellin’ me who I should love
Who to hate and who’s above
A little screen in my hand
Tryin’ to rewrite who I am
Everybody wants salvation
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination

[Bridge]
Maybe we unplug, let the silence breathe
Put the phones away and believe what we see
A sunset don’t need filters to shine
And a real good song still sounds just fine
 
[Interlude]
 
[Final chorus]
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination
Cold blue light across the nation
Tellin’ me who I should love
Who to hate and who’s above
A little screen in my hand
Tryin’ to rewrite who I am
Everybody wants salvation
We’re caught up in AI indoctrination

[Outro]
Turn down the noise and turn off the persuasion
We’re more than AI indoctrination

Hay Rob this sounds good.

This past Halloween my daughter wanted us to go see The Rocky Harrow Picture Show
Before the show started they asked who hadn't seen it before and there was a few,
Then they asked who had seen it in 75 and I was the only one there that had seen it back then
I still remember going to see it at the midnight movies, we went 14 weekends in a row

Not as good now as it was back then

I've always been a Meatloaf fan

Hay Rob this sounds good.

This past Halloween my daughter wanted us to go see The Rocky Harrow Picture Show
Before the show started they asked who hadn't seen it before and there was a few,
Then they asked who had seen it in 75 and I was the only one there that had seen it back then
I still remember going to see it at the midnight movies, we went 14 weekends in a row

Not as good now as it was back then

I've always been a Meatloaf fan

Hey Tex,
I first watched it in 1981. Not sure if it was still part of the original run or some kind of revival by then. People were throwing rice and making a total mess of the place. It was really an event.
I thought Tim Curry was absolutely awesome — the way he dressed, performed, and sang. Nobody else is quite like him.
Thanks for the feedback!

A clever song. I'm very uneasy about the way that AI generated music has now almost become the norm, but I also get that some folks use it intelligently and use it very much to their advantage. Still glad I learned to sing and play. I digress, this is a great song, no matter how it was created.