Seventeen's Woozi clarifies that band's music is not made by AI, following BBC report

Boy band Seventeen member and producer Woozi pushed back on the controversy surrounding his alleged use of artificial intelligence in composing the boy band’s song “Maestro.”

Seventeen poses for the camera during a press conference for the boy band's first compilation album ″17 is Right Here,″ held at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul on April 29. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Boy band Seventeen member and producer Woozi pushed back on the controversy surrounding his alleged use of artificial intelligence in composing the boy band’s song “Maestro.”

“All of Seventeen’s music is written and composed by human creators,” Woozi said Sunday on an Instagram story.

Woozi’s post follows an article by the BBC, where the British public service broadcaster said that the boy band’s song “Maestro,” released in April, “might well include AI-generated lyrics too.” The music video of the song included scenes that were generated by AI.

The article has since been updated and the phrase that stirred up controversy has been deleted as of Sunday.

The BBC article in question was about a press conference that Seventeen held in April regarding its compilation album “17 is Right Here,” held at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul.

Woozi said that he was “experimenting” with AI trying to look for the “downside of using AI while picking out the advantages of using it.” The Seventeen member never said during the conference that AI was directly used for the composition of “Maestro.”

“I’ve been thinking every day to see how we can keep Seventeen’s identity in such a rapidly advancing society,” Woozi said during the press conference.

"The claim that AI was used in the lyrics of Seventeen's songs is not true," said the boy band’s agency, Pledis Entertainment. "We have conveyed our position [asking] for a correction from the foreign media outlet that reported this story."

Recently, Seventeen promised to donate $1 million to help people around the world pursue their dreams as the first K-pop ambassador for the youth in its speech given on June 26 at Unesco headquarters in Paris.

To find out more about Woozi, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]