SZA Denounces AI Music as 'Degenerate' After Unauthorized Data Scraping

The 36-year-old artist shared a screenshot of an AI platform on June 20, confirming that her discography—including unreleased material—had been ingested for model training. Her comments reflect a deepening divide in the music industry between proponents of AI-assisted production and those who view the technology as an existential threat to human creativity and copyright.

SZA’s stance aligns with a broader movement of high-profile artists, including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Stevie Wonder, who have previously petitioned against the predatory use of voice and likeness data. These critics argue that massive corporations are diluting royalty pools by replacing human artistry with machine-generated content. In 2025, SZA publicly criticized the signing of AI artist Xania Monet to a $3 million record deal, citing both moral objections and the environmental impact of the energy-intensive data centers powering these systems.

While industry consensus remains elusive, some artists have embraced the technology. Teddy Swims, for instance, admitted in November 2025 to using AI for lyric drafting and genre-reimagining, though he stopped short of endorsing the unauthorized cloning of his own voice. For SZA, however, the line is absolute. She maintains that no justification exists for supporting tools she believes are fundamentally polluting the creative landscape and exploiting the work of artists.