Pop stars often inhabit otherworldly personas. Artists such as David Bowie and Lady Gaga made their mark on culture by becoming almost transcendent, mystical figures. But their success has also been down to their humanity; their ability to shock, surprise and sing about things we identify with or aspire to. Experiments in artificial intelligence are now assembling an artist that's truly alien: the AI pop star. Could a non-human entertainer enchant and enthral a human audience? Could we become devoted fans of a bunch of algorithms?
The most fully formed example currently is Auxuman, a collective of five AI personas created by London artist Ash Koosha. Yona, Mony, Gemini, Hexe and Zoya released their first album back in September, with a follow-up two months later. They each have their own musical style that's computer-generated rather than composed. On the song Crossfire, Mony sings of spending days "shooting pixels off the screen", and how he "lost my friends in the crossfire". The sound is synthesised, beguiling, opaque.
The aim of the project was to build virtual entertainers that could “satisfy our endless thirst for entertainment”, but producing a cultural facsimile of pop music is far from easy. Lyrics, voice, melody, sound and image have to dovetail together in a way that appeals to huge numbers of people. Humans find this notoriously difficult to achieve; millions have tried and failed. And Auxuman hasn’t hit the big-time (yet). AI certainly has its work cut out.
Given the recent advances in the quality of computer-generated text, lyrics should, at least in theory, present the least problem. Neural networks can mine text data to produce strings of words that have rhyme, alliteration and rhythm. Koosha told website Digital Trends the Auxuman lyric engine was trained on articles, poems and conversations from online. "Expression on each song comes from stories we have told, ideas we have generated and opinions we have shared," he said.
A budding AI pop star would need to be able to convert those words into song. While most of us can sing impromptu tunes to ourselves in an instinctive way, AI has no such instinct.
The initial inspiration for a song's subject – unless it's randomised – also has to come from a human. Last week, US researcher Li Yang Ku unveiled his "Home-made Rap Machine", a web-based engine trained on 180,000 rhymes by classic MCs. You feed in a line, it supplies a rejoinder, which was described by Li as "entertaining, but with limited success". When prompted with "I think I got coronavirus" it replied: "Put me on my head like a vinyl". Questionable.
A smartphone app called Alysia also claims to be able to automate lyric writing, but only for certain topics (including Love, Sadness, Joy, Girls and Boys) and the onus is on you to organise and edit the generated lines.
A budding AI pop star would need to be able to convert those words into song. While most of us can sing impromptu tunes to ourselves in an instinctive way, AI has no such instinct. In December, scientists at Amazon's research centre in Cambridge, UK, used a Google-designed algorithm to analyse language and combine it with notes into a sung melody. Human listeners then marked the results for "naturalness"; it scored 59 per cent on average. Not bad. But its actual voice – the singing, if you like – still involves synthesis with a sound determined by a human being.
Then there's the song's arrangement, combining melody and harmony in a way that's pleasing to the ear. AI was first used to generate a musical composition back in 1957, a string quartet ("Illiac Suite") composed by a vacuum tube computer at the University of Illinois. The results were pleasant, but clumsy. Fast forward 60 years, and a Sony research laboratory was using AI to compose a Beatles-style song called Daddy's Car.
Again, it felt like an impersonation of pop music rather than pop music itself. AI has managed to distinguish itself, however, in the field of muzak, which doesn’t demand our attention. An AI project called Boomy has made hundreds of thousands of ambient soundscapes that quietly move around simple musical shapes. But that’s something very different to achieving pop stardom.
AI is undoubtedly useful for facilitating and developing ideas. Experimental musicians such as Holly Herndon use AI to push compositions in new directions and challenge musicians to move out of their comfort zone. At the other end of the scale, AI provides engines for people who’d love to write music but need help doing so. An app called Amadeus Code bills itself as an “AI powered songwriting assistant”, generating melodies in a number of styles.
In December, Amazon unveiled DeepComposer, "the world's first musical keyboard powered by generative AI", which fleshes out melodies with accompaniments. Other services offer something similar without a keyboard, including the iOS app HumTap, and OpenAI's MuseNet, which generates music for up to 10 instruments in more than a dozen genres. It is possible for AI to generate a song from an idea. But it needs plenty of helping hands along the way.
But what about the physical embodiment of an AI popstar? Modern audiences are certainly willing to be entertained by non-human entities, whether it’s the cartoons that represent the band Gorillaz, or modern day virtual entertainers such as Instagram’s Lil Miquela. But AI doesn’t choose the way it presents itself; humans do. The look of Auxuman’s five personas were not the result of a flash of computer-generated inspiration; they’re designed to look like pop stars. Across every creative aspect of pop music, AI is only currently able to facilitate or augment the stylistic choices of the humans behind it. That may yet result in something culturally significant, according to Stephen Phillips of Australian AI firm Popgun. He believes that AI will help younger kids create their own pop personas that connect with other kids of the same age. “Once they have the tools to make music that sounds great, they’ll make music for each other, and it’ll sound incredibly genuine to them,” he said in a recent interview.
For many years now, it’s been relatively easy to get a computer to make music that sounds vaguely acceptable to the ear. We appreciate it for being clever. But it’s far harder for it to make music that we appreciate for its artistic merit and want to revisit. “Music is a complex, highly structured sequential data modality,” researchers at AI company DeepMind noted in a 2018 paper. For now, AI music is less about computers entertaining us, and more about marketing. The AI pop star is merely a puppet. Some, of course, may argue that this is what human pop stars have been all along.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
The%20specs
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Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Ferrari
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Mann%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Adam%20Driver%2C%20Penelope%20Cruz%2C%20Shailene%20Woodley%2C%20Patrick%20Dempsey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
Winner: Miqyaas, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Shanty Star, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Alkaamel, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Speedy Move, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Quartier Francois, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
