“This Would Send Me Into Psychosis” — Uber Driver Plays AI-Generated Song With Passenger’s Name

An Uber customer was taken aback after her driver put on an AI-generated track featuring her name as the song's focal point.

Elise (@elise_carlin) documented the unique experience in a viral TikTok that accrued over 580,000 views on the popular social media platform.

She begins her video with a recording of herself seated in the back of an Uber while on her way to the airport. In a text overlay of the clip she details what makes this particular rideshare experience different than others. That's because the driver decided to utilize artificial intelligence software to mix songs with Elise's name incorporated in them.

"My Uber driver is playing AI versions of songs with my name inserted," she writes.

"Rare design, oh Elise you're everything," the computer-generated singer can be heard crooning.

The pretty-girl-depression tone continues: "A quiet voice, a song bird's wing, you walk like dreams that never cease."

While a variety of the TikToker's expressions indicate that she isn't too pleased with the AI-created tracks, she stays quiet through the 22-second clip.

"I'm lost in love with you, Elise," the robo-woman says as the clip comes to an end.

She didn't appear to upload any follow-up videos about the experience on her social media account. However, judging from the wave of commenters who reacted to her post, it appears that one video was enough for them.

Throngs of folks seemed just as unnerved by the AI songs as Elise was. "This would send me into psychosis," one wrote. Whereas another said that the AI-developed track seems like it would be part of a prank show.

"This feels like a Nathan for You bit," they remarked.

Aside from just being annoying, several folks expressed concern over the Uber driver's intentions. Many pondered why anyone would do this for a complete stranger riding in the back of their vehicle.

"That's so terrifying," one TikToker wrote.

Someone else echoed the same fear: "Hey! Did you make it to your destination. I’m actually scared."

One user on the app said that Elise's video seemed like an instance of life imitating art. Specifically, a series known for dark, dystopian takes on the future of humanity.

"This feels like an episode of Black Mirror," they penned.

But there were some who seemed to appreciate the driver's effort into playing the song, even if it was AI-generated.

"Five stars from me, IDC if it’s weird," they said.

There's no shortage of AI-generated music widely available on the internet, with tons of services for prospective users to tinker around with. Many of these services can generate tracks made with simple test prompts.

And there are those that possess the option of uploading separate tracks for seamless mash-ups, or to give a variant of an already popular song.

This, unsurprisingly has been met with controversy and legal action from music industry giants. If AI-generated tracks can captivate the eardrums of listeners, then that wrestles even more control away from artists, catalog holders, record labels, and entertainment companies.

Furthermore, if folks want to replicate a song, AI makes it easier than other. One can create a prompt to produce a facsimile of a popular track. Then they could prompt AI to alter the arrangement just enough so it can skirt any intellectual property laws.

While there are visceral fears about AI's potential for decimating jobs and upending a slew of businesses, there are some who may incorporate it into their personal workflows.

For instance, if you're a music producer and have a track you're working on and would like to automatically adjust particular levels of a track, or recommend specific instruments to attain a sound you'd like, AI could help give you ideas.

Other more tedious tasks, such as manually adjusting fade in and fade out levels could be accomplished with a simple AI prompt. After all: the more specific one is with AI, the more effective of a tool it is. So if you know the exact direction you'd like to go with a song and you already put the leg work in, it might be able to help.

Or perhaps you want to sing a duet on a track but don't have any available singers, you could use AI to re-shape your voice. It's not like auto-tune hasn't been around for ages, so what would be so different about using it for that purpose?

You might be surprised to find out which of your favorite duet songs were actually sung by the same person who had their vocal levels adjusted.