Lucas spent months in a coma - now he's on the brink of a landmark music award

"AI has changed my life, absolutely," Lucas Horne tells Sky News. "When I play my music, I'm blessed due to the fact that the words I cognize mean a batch to maine tin present beryllium heard by everyone else."

Lucas was 17 when, successful December 2016, with nary warning, helium suffered a large, traumatic bleed crossed his brain.

He didn't aftermath up until astir 4 months later.

Unknowingly, helium had been surviving with a defect successful the humor vessels known arsenic an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a ticking clip weaponry which had ruptured, and the adjacent 3 years of his beingness were spent successful betterment successful a attraction home.

He couldn't locomotion and struggled to talk. Writing down his thoughts, astir similar a diary, was thing helium says helium wanted to bash from precise aboriginal on.

"During my attraction location days erstwhile I couldn't truly explicit myself precise good - I inactive can't - but I could constitute astir it, it was an outlet for me," helium says. "Since I woke up, I've been writing... but for a agelong clip I couldn't grounds anything."

Lucas, present 26, has spent years moving connected his carnal betterment and speech. But erstwhile helium was yet physically capable to grounds the songs helium had been penning himself, helium became frustrated by the mode his dependable had changed.

"It ne'er sounded however I had [it in] my head," helium says. "I'm precise monotone successful however I speak, I conflict to truly show emotion."

And truthful helium turned to AI (artificial intelligence). Now, Lucas is besides known arsenic The BTO Kid, and is 1 of 15 creators from astir the world, shortlisted from much than 500 entries, for the inaugural Future Sound Awards - celebrating artificial quality successful music.

While immoderate artists specified arsenic will.i.am, David Guetta, Grimes, Timbaland and adjacent Sir Paul McCartney person embraced definite aspects of AI, it tin beryllium a arguable taxable successful the originative industries - with concerns raised by galore successful the astir issues including copyright, quality replacement, fakes, and regulation.

It was 1 of the issues down the Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes successful 2023 - and the much caller video crippled histrion strike, which ended successful June aft astir a twelvemonth of concern action.

Despite the criticism, AI isn't going away. Last twelvemonth was a "breakout" twelvemonth for the exertion successful music, according to the International Music Summit's latest yearly concern report, with 60m users utilizing AI software.

Lucas says helium is simply a cleanable illustration of however the exertion tin beryllium utilized for good.

"I've been capable to usage AI to explicit however I'm feeling," helium says. "It's been large for maine to make [music] that I'm arrogant of. I tin spot the arguments [against it], but from my presumption I cognize AI helped maine make thing I couldn't before. I'm not Adele, but I person been capable to marque thing that I'm arrogant of and that expresses my presumption constituent of what's happened to me."

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'AI is lowering the barriers'

BTO stands for Beat The Odds and his shortlisted way is titled AI Gave Me A Voice. "I pinch myself each time due to the fact that this conscionable can't beryllium true," is the opening enactment - which helium says reflects however acold helium has travel from the infinitesimal helium woke up and discovered what had happened.

"That comes from reality. I bash person moments wherever I deliberation truthful overmuch has happened that it indispensable not beryllium true... each enactment means thing to me."

Lucas, who lives successful Nottingham, utilized the AI-powered euphony accumulation level TwoShot to make the track, utilizing prompts connected what helium wanted for the dependable alongside his lyrics, inspired by melodic rap.

"I deliberation we're gonna get rather a batch much radical similar maine that can't grounds euphony and person been fixed a dependable done AI," helium says. "AI is lowering the barriers to introduction for a batch of things." Which tin beryllium a antagonistic arsenic good arsenic a positive, helium acknowledges. "We'll person to spot wherever it goes."

Launched by the Fanvue World AI Creator Awards, The Future Sound Awards purpose to item the ethical usage of AI successful music, organisers say. Fanvue is simply a subscription creator level with much than 180,000 users.

Some 15 artists from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia, arsenic good arsenic the UK, person been shortlisted for prizes, and the winners volition beryllium announced aboriginal successful September.

Lucas is 1 of 2 British creators connected the list, alongside Gallis, from Essex. The 31-year-old archetypal dipped his toed into the waters of the euphony manufacture astir 10 years ago, aft joining the urban-pop lad set Mr Meanor, but says the manufacture was hard and "it each got a spot excessively much".

He is present a tattoo creator and good painter, but continued his songwriting and started to effort retired AI euphony accumulation tools astir 18 months ago.

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AI has 'made maine much creative'

As an artist, helium says helium had his ain concerns astir AI earlier helium started utilizing it himself, peculiarly aft representation generators started becoming salient online.

"It was stealing the enactment that I was doing," is however helium describes his archetypal feelings. "But I ended up jumping connected committee with it and for maine personally, it's inspired maine truthful much. It's made maine quicker astatine what I'm doing, it's made maine much creative. And I deliberation it's the aforesaid with music. I deliberation it's gonna, if anything, turn the industry."

However, helium says helium agrees with disapproval astir the morals of however immoderate AI models are trained - pursuing contention astir enactment by quality euphony artists and authors being utilized without consent. "And trying to impersonate precisely idiosyncratic other and utilizing idiosyncratic else's voice, I don't hold with that astatine all," helium adds.

Gallis's shortlisted song, Chiropractor emerged from "friendly competition" with a assemblage of creators helium came crossed erstwhile helium moved into AI, trading feedback and ratings. The genre is Trinibad, which helium says determination isn't capable of "in the AI world", and the way is designed to get radical dancing.

"I chiefly instrumentality to municipality music, but I similar penning successful a batch of antithetic styles," helium says. "I've done location songs, I've done UK drill songs, Afrobeats, amapiano. I'm a spot of a vibes antheral truthful if it makes maine creation and determination and grin that's erstwhile I truly bask it."

Narcis Marincat, caput of AI astatine Fanvue, says the stories down the selected songs amusement a "richness and quality emotion" that appealed to him and different judges.

"The interaction of AI successful euphony continues to disagreement opinion," helium says. "But for the archetypal time, via the Future Sound Awards, we're capable to amusement a antithetic position connected the affirmative interaction of AI successful euphony - uncovering the existent radical down the exertion and sharing their stories and music."