Cover art by Franchesca Gustilo
Debates over AI’s role in our participatory culture and digital world have been pervasive. From schools to workplaces, everyday life to entertainment, AI’s influence is increasingly visible. Fans even flagged the current season of Pinoy Big Brother after AI-generated photos of celebrity housemates with their younger selves were used in a specific episode, which was a trend reminiscent of earlier online fads.
blatant use of ai on national tv??? we are so doomed https://t.co/OwQmmeKGd4
— marie ✩ (@fleaeag) November 18, 2025
Yet this week, the conversation reached a new intensity in the OPM community: an AI “artist” has officially entered Spotify Philippines’ Daily Top Artists chart.
It’s a known fact that artists have pushed through sleepless nights, dead ends, notebook pages filled and torn, and countless rejected drafts, all to write a song from scratch. But now, that labor is being measured against an algorithm that can spit out a “new” track in minutes using someone else’s voice, style, or discography as raw material. The question many artists are asking isn’t whether AI should exist. It’s whether the industry is ready, or in fact even willing, to protect the people who make music possible.
This tension did not appear overnight. Months ago, Cup of Joe’s Gian Bernardino already felt the ground shifting underneath OPM’s feet. When an AI-generated rock cover of “Pahina” circulated online, he expressed his discomfort. Are we really letting the cold embrace of AI overtake the warmth of real songs? When a machine can replicate voices, what becomes of the soul behind the music? If creativity can be coded, what’s left for artists to claim as their own? AI had become a force capable of cloning voices, mimicking styles, and reimagining entire bodies of work without an ounce of lived experience behind it.
This week’s revelation only deepened the unease. Charts account AllChartsPH on X (formerly Twitter) reported that Lofi Town had debuted at number 144 on Spotify Philippines’ Top Artists list. An AI act earning real estate on a chart meant for musicians who spent years honing their craft.
I already told u :’(( but u keep on using opm ai generated songs on the clock app https://t.co/cH6eH8RXQ5
— Maki *ੈ✩‧₊˚ (@clfrnia_maki) November 16, 2025
“Dilaw” hitmaker Maki, in a post on X, reiterated a warning he had given long before this incident. AI, he noted, may be helpful “for assistance and learning BUT it should not replace humans.” He called on listeners to respect the artists who “nagsulat, nagrecord, at nagpromote sa mga kanta na yan from SCRATCH :((.”
Adie said it with, “Grabe naman kawawa ang sining.”
ubos braincells, lahat ng pagpupuyat, at wala ng page sa notebook na sinusulatan ng kanta para lang matalo ng isang robot na iniiba lang ang genre ng mismong kanta 😂 patawa kayo guys https://t.co/aR8JotmDrG
— mrld (@thisismrld) November 16, 2025
Meanwhile, “Ligaya” singer Mrld delivered perhaps the clearest, most evocative condemnation. “Ubos brain cells, lahat ng pagpupuyat, at wala ng page sa notebook na sinusulatan ng kanta, para lang matalo ng isang robot na iniiba lang ang genre ng mismong kanta. Patawa kayo guys.”
Other artists echoed the sentiment as TJ Monterde responded with an angry emoji, Janine Teñoso punctuated her disbelief with question and exclamation marks, and Angela Ken summed up the collective sentiment in a single word, “Sad.”
— Angela Ken (@anqelaken) November 16, 2025
Are we now heading toward a world of AI creating images that mimic human emotion but feel hollow at their core? AI singers topping charts with voices cloned from the very people who spent years perfecting their craft? AI sportscasters calling the games we once watched with excitement? The question isn’t just what AI can do but it’s what it should do, and what it might take away from the human stories, struggles, and sweat that give art its meaning.
AI is not going away. Not here, not anywhere. But if Filipino artists are expected to compete with robots trained on their own art, then the industry must decide what kind of future it is building. A future that rewards the cheapest, fastest sound? Or one that still champions the human beings who give meaning into melodies?
Because if a robot can top the charts today, the real fear is not that AI will evolve, but that our respect for human creativity might slowly disappear. And that is a loss no algorithm can ever repair.
