Gene Simmons, the 77-year-old singer of KISS, urged the music sector to adopt artificial intelligence during an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill with Blake Burman" on Tuesday.
The interview, aired on The Hill and NewsNation, both Nexstar Media Group properties, asked Simmons whether AI would be beneficial or harmful to music.
"It doesn't matter," Simmons replied. "The future is here."
He added, "You've got to learn how to use it, otherwise it will use you."
Recent years have seen many entertainers protest the "unlicensed use" of their creations in AI training.
In 2024, Radiohead, the Cure and members of ABBA joined thousands of artists signing a public letter condemning the "unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI," calling it a "major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works."
During the same interview, Simmons reiterated his backing of the American Music Fairness Act, legislation that would force radio companies to compensate performers for airplay.
He noted his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property last year and said he has spent "some alone time" discussing the bill with former President Trump.
Simmons forecast that the bill "will pass," warning, "I'm going to be a big, angry bee in the butt of everybody who stands in its way, and I don't care."
