Nile Rodgers Defends AI Use in New Christmas Video

Nile Rodgers is defending his use of artificial intelligence in a forthcoming music video after preview images drew criticism from fans. The Chic co-founder said the project uses technology under human direction and argued that viewers should see the finished work before judging the process.

A holiday project meets an AI backlash

The video accompanies a new version of “The Christmas Song,” Rodgers’ 2020 charity collaboration with singer Rebecca Ferguson. Rolling Stone and Consequence reported that Rodgers shared footage from a photogrammetry capture and described the production as an ambitious art project inspired partly by the immersive scale of the Eagles’ performances at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Some commenters objected to the use of AI before the full video had been released. Rodgers replied that the creative team had built the project and used AI to carry out its instructions, rather than handing over the artistic decisions. He also challenged the idea that audiences can reject AI categorically while routinely relying on technology for convenience.

The preview stills, as described by Consequence, place Rodgers and Ferguson in a stylized setting populated by fuzzy creatures. That imagery intensified an already familiar debate in music and film: whether generative tools expand what artists can make or weaken the value of work produced by human illustrators, animators and visual-effects teams.

The finished video will be the real test

Rodgers’ response does not settle questions about training data, labor or disclosure, and the consulted reports did not identify every tool used in production. What it does clarify is his stated view of the workflow: people conceived the images, made creative choices and directed the software toward a planned result.

For now, the dispute is based on a short capture clip and selected stills rather than the completed video. Its release will give viewers a better basis for assessing whether the technology serves the song’s charitable and festive purpose—or distracts from it.