Charley Crockett thinks there’s one thing – and one thing only – that can keep artificial intelligence at bay. Ever since AI infiltrated the music industry, there’s been talk about how the two things would work together. The use of artificial intelligence continues to be a real concern for the songwriting community. In recent years, AI-generated music has become more and more commonplace, and creating it has become more and more accessible. Music created with artificial intelligence is already running rampant on social media platforms like TikTok. We here at Whiskey Riff reported on an AI song taking the top spot on the Billboard Country Digital Sales chart last year. And as AI continues to advance, music made solely by machines is becoming harder to distinguish from songs made by real people. A study shared in 2025 stated that 97% of people can’t tell the difference between music made by real people and music made by artificial intelligence. Considering AI is still somewhat in its infant stages… that could spell trouble for the the music industry. When Charley Crockett was asked how artists can continue to be authentic when AI advances further and further every day in his documentary A Cowboy In London, the “$10 Dollar Cowboy” singer responded with just one word: “Touring.” The country music artist, who just surprise dropped an album days ago (and just three weeks after his previous record release), feels that’s the only true way to combat AI making it’s way into the music industry. In fact, he feels like the writing is on the wall for AI to really tap into its potential: Bringing deceased artists back to life: “You can’t stop what’s coming. Sometimes it feels like the harder you try, the faster it takes over. It is inevitable that the estates and the machine behind legends like Johnny Cash and Tupac and Elvis and Michael Jackson… you better believe there’s too much money in it. It’s coming, it’s just coming.” It’s always about the money. Though that sounds like a surreal, dystopian future to live in, Charley Crockett is probably right. Estates who have the rights to catalogues of the greats of yesteryear could be persuaded to hand over the reigns for the right price. And Crockett admitted that he’d at least be slightly intrigued by what AI could do in those situations: “I could probably be won over by a believable enough performance. I’ve already heard a ton of Hank Williams Sr. AI recordings that are indistinguishable. They do something to you. That’s the thing. They can make a Johnny Cash hologram. I’m not going to lie to you. I might be convinced to go see something like that. Because I like the idea that Johnny Cash would still be somehow walking the Earth. I like that idea… but there’s nothing quite like the real thing.” Bringing the greats back is certainly an idea, but there’s definitely a moral and ethical grey area there. Like Charley said, there’s nothing quite like the real thing… and maybe after the real thing isn’t there anymore, that should be respected rather than resurrected. You can hear Crockett talk more about it all in his A Cowboy In London documentary: The post Charley Crockett Believes AI Is Inevitable & There’s Only One Way To Combat It first appeared on Whiskey Riff.