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CNN This Morning

Generated Song Not by Drake & the Weeknd Pulled of Platforms. NFL's Damar Hamlin Cleared to Play Again After Cardiac Arrest. CEO Tells Staff Worried About Bonuses to "Leave Pity City". How Important Is Your Job to Your Overall Sense of Identity? Toddler Infiltrates White House Grounds.

Aired April 19, 2023 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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[08:33:41]

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Drake and The Weeknd, right? No.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: No.

HARLOW: No, it's not in fact. They had nothing to do with what you just heard. The viral song was made with artificial intelligence replicating the artist's voice. So to reiterate, what you just heard was fake. For real? AI, fake real. That's how confusing it is.

LEMON: It's not live. It's not Memorex.

HARLOW: Yeah, and it's not them. The song has been taken down from various streaming sites due to a copyright claim by Universal Music Group that represents, of course, Drake and The Weeknd. UMG wrote this. "We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists. To work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators. We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists."

The artist who generated that song, ghostwriter977, commented on TikTok writing, I was a ghost writer for years and got paid close to nothing, just for major labels to profit. The future is here! Our guests are nodding.

We're going to get into that. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd have commented on this recent AI generated song, but just last week, Drake spoke out about another AI-generated song that mimicked his voice saying, this is the final straw AI With perspective on all of it. We're joined by two experts in this space.

[08:35:00]

Julie Slavin and also DJ Hesta Prynn and Entertainment and Managing Executive Producer, Ian Schwartzman. Guys, thanks very, very much for being here. Why were you nodding? What do you guys think? JULIE POTASH SLAVIN, DJ HESTA PRYNN: Well, first of all, I think that, we don't know if Drake is involved in this or not.

HARLOW: Huh?

SLAVIN: He said a lot to say about AI His record label was somewhat vague in this. Is this the release of a new project with AI with Drake and The Weeknd? We don't yet know.

HARLOW: Your show last night, yesterday was all about this.

SLAVIN: That's right.

HARLOW: So you're deep in on it.

SLAVIN: I'm big timing on this. So my show music is therapy.

HARLOW: Yeah.

SLAVIN: It's about music and about emotions and what emotions. And what I will tell you is my listeners do not like this, they do not like AI They are afraid. They feel connected to their favorite artists in a deep personal way.

HARLOW: You can't put a picture of an AI on your wall. You can't dream about your AI picking you out of the crowd and marrying you. You know, AI never went through a heartbreak. AI never, you know, was alone. AI can't say things better than you can.

LEMON: Yeah. And, I mean, it does sound fake, right? Remember the whole thing when digital music started to come in and people said, well, it doesn't sound like the album. The album is exactly rich texture.

HARLOW: Yep.

LEMON: And the AI sounds fake. It's sort of the same thing, right? You can't really connect to it.

SLAVIN: You can.

LEMON: It's too -- I always say perfection is boring and that AI is boring.

IAN SCHWARTZMAN, ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: I don't mean to interrupt, but I --

LEMON: No, go on.

SCHWARTZMAN: I disagree with you.

LEMON: All right, good.

SCHWARTZMAN: I think you can relate to it, and I think that it's just as good as music that's made in a studio when you're sitting there with your favorite artist watching them create. The difference is very slim to none at this point, when you hear a song you like, you're either attracted to it or you're not. And when I heard The Weeknd and Drake, the ghost written record that's created through artificial intelligence. I thought to myself, wow, this is a record that they actually collaborated on.

This is their marketing roll-out. And this record's actually coming to the market.

HARLOW: Julie, is it just copying what Drake and The Weeknd did? Can it be creative? Have a soul, create music from that soul?

SLAVIN: These are all the important questions, right? If you are feeding the songs into the algorithm, if you're feeding the songs that are already created into the algorithm and it's spinning something else out, and then you're feeding it back in and it's spitting something else out, it's not innovative, right?

It might sound the same. Here's an argument, it might sound the same, but feel the same to your point about it being hollow about it not being human, how does it make you feel?

LEMON: But it is artificial intelligence, so it learns from the actual people and it actually -- doesn't it supposedly makes it better, right?

SCHWARTZMAN: Could.

LEMON: Well, could make it better.

SCHWARTZMAN: Theoretically make it better.

LEMON: Do you have artists, because you represent artists and actors, do you have artists and clients who are involved in this?

SCHWARTZMAN: Yeah, I represent music producers, some of which who think this is absolutely outrageous and don't want anything to do with it.

LEMON: Has it affected them?

SCHWARTZMAN: Not yet. But I think that there are people who are forward looking, and then there's people who are operating under archaic methods that are scared of having their jobs and potential incomes affected by what artificial intelligence could mean for the future of music production and creation.

I personally look at this as an opportunity for artists to create new revenue streams and a new rights category that doesn't exist yet.

HARLOW: One of -- Go ahead.

LEMON: I'm sorry. How do you create a new revenue stream if it's something else doing? You understand what I'm saying?

SCHWARTZMAN: Well, because right now with AI generated music, there's somebody else that's inputting the words and lyrics into a machine, and then an actual song comes out.

If that song's not under the rights that a label has rights to, then this is a new rights category that the artist can then claim. And that could generate money. I mean, this Weeknd and Drake song probably accumulated 50 million plus records in a 48 hour time span before the record labels were able to take it down, off all the DSPs.

If that was left to earn money and the artist had rights to that recording, then they would've effectively made a lot of money that they didn't.

SLAVIN: Right.

HARLOW: And Ian has also talked about this opportunity maybe for block chain. You've talked about watermark, sort of digital signatures, right. On AI I think that's really important.

What are we not asking you that we should be talking about?

SLAVIN: I think when you talk about new revenue streams, I think it can be, I think an interesting place to look is how can fans harness this technology. Think about Kim Kardashian's game. Remember she did Kim Kardashian Hollywood 20 years ago?

SCHWARTZMAN: Yes.

SLAVIN: And you can spend money.

SCHWARTZMAN: Yep.

SLAVIN: And you can act as if you're Kim Kardashian or Khloe or Kourtney or whomever. I wonder, can you subscribe? Can you use the Eminem like David Guetta, the Eminem verse generator. Can I pay a certain amount of money and play in the game of being a record producer at home if I have no, you know, musical ability and say, I want Eminem to write a verse about my best friends.

SCHWARTZMAN: Yep.

SLAVIN: And can I, you know, send in some money to Eminem or to his label or to the company? Where does the money go?

HARLOW: Yeah.

SLAVIN: That's creative to me. That's cool. And it's not stealing and it's not putting someone out of work. And I think there is a different kind of, to use your word.

[08:40:00]

SLAVIN: Soul, in doing something.

HARLOW: There you go. Ugh, I could talk about this forever. It's just fascinating.

LEMON: DJ Hesta Prynn. SLAVIN: Hesta Prynn.

HARLOW: Prynn.

LEMON: Hesta Prynn.

SLAVIN: Don.

LEMON: I'm just looking at the prompter. You know, it looks, and Ian Schwartzman, thank you.

SLAVIN: I think you made us --

LEMON: DJ, you're friend of the show, I know.

SLAVIN: How many times we got to come of your show before you know my name?

HARLOW: I think you made us cooler just being in your presence, so thank you guys.

SCHWARTZAN: Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. See you, both of you.

HARLOW: Well now this story, a great story this morning for you, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to return to football. What doctors and Damar are saying this morning.

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DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS SAFETY: Some people might say that coming back to play might not be the best option. But that's their opinion. And, like I said, I've been beating statistics my whole life, so I like my chances here.

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[08:44:42]

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HAMLIN: I died on national TV in front of the whole world. I lost a bunch of people in my life. I know a bunch of people who lost people in their lives, and I know that feeling, you know? So that right there is just the biggest blessing of it all is for me to still have my people and my people still to have.

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LEMON: Really so happy for him. Buffalo Bill's safety Damar Hamlin says he is happy to be alive and happy to be cleared to return to the NFL. He said he died on Live TV, right? When that happened three months ago, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest mid-game. After a routine tackle, he sustained a blow to the chest, stood up, and then immediately collapsed to the ground.

Hamlin confirms commotio cordis caused his cardiac arrest. It is a rare phenomenon when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart's rhythm and can even cause sudden death.

So joining us now, CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's back with us. Thank you for joining us on a different topic this morning, doctor. We appreciate it. So walk us through what happened with him is it comodio or commotio? In the beginning, people were saying both.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's commotio. But you're right.

People do often say both, commotio is a correct pronunciation. It was an emotional thing to watch that, right? I was watching that game. I love sports. I'm a doctor. And then to watch what happened and that remarkable resuscitation, it was like being inside a hospital even though it was on a football field in terms of what they were able to do.

But what happens here now, as you mentioned, the diagnosis was confirmed. Commotio cortis, think of it like this. Here's a heart prop. Heart's constantly beating and relaxing, beating, relaxing. It's happening all the time. What happens with commotio cortis is that right at the time, the heart is about to relax, go from beat to relax, it takes a blow to the chest, and that chest causes these issues where the heart really can't relax as a result of that, and instead starts to fibrillate and go into an irregular heartbeat.

Which can lead to the cardiac arrest, and that can happen what I just described, just like that in a split second, which is what we saw and what we now know happened to Damar on that football field.

HARLOW: Yes.

GUPTA: Yeah. Again, you saw that resuscitation with the AEDs being applied, CPR, all of that.

It made a difference, I think, in terms of where we are today. Three and a half months later.

HARLOW: We'll never forget your piece. Going up to Buffalo with those doctors and sort of showing us exactly how sort of perfect --

LEMON: Oh, right, right.

HARLOW: -- that execution was to save his life. Sanjay, what do you say to folks, Damar said in this press conference? I know some people think this is too soon. He shouldn't go back and play. Medically. What do you say to that?

GUPTA: I realize it can seem surprising to people considering what, you know, everyone witnessed again on Live TV, but the last three and a half months have been filled with all sorts of evaluations to try and make this conclusion. Different types of tests, different, you know, looking at his, the structural abnormalities. Are there any of his heart looking at his electrical rhythms? What they can say now is that his heart function is normal and that he did not have an underlying cause either anatomically or electrically. So in essence, what they're saying by saying he can return to play is that his risk is really no greater than someone else like him, a 25-year old professional athlete.

It's a general population risk. That's why they're clearing him.

HARLOW: Wow.

LEMON: You remember everything, I've had forgotten that.

HARLOW: What?

LEMON: Sanjay, no, that's--

HARLOW: Hardly.

LEMON: Her memory's crazy that Sanjay had done that reporting. Yeah.

HARLOW: Thanks. Hope it stays that way, doctor. Thank you very much.

GUPTA: It's cause she graduated so many years after you, Don.

HARLOW: He's joking.

LEMON: Sanjay.

HARLOW: Thank you, Sanjay. We're so happy for Damar's whole family. Cannot wait to see him back on field.

LEMON: Amen.

HARLOW: All right. As you get ready to head to your nine to five, we are diving into data on how satisfied are we all with our jobs. Harry Enten has this morning's number.

LEMON: There's a lot of music in this show.

HARLOW: Dolly Parton

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[08:52:49]

LEMON: The leader of a high-end office furniture company has earned herself the nickname Pity -- the Pity City CEO. Her name is Andi Owen from the company MillerKnoll. During a video town hall, an employee asked her quote, "How can we stay motivated if we're not going to get a bonus?" This is what the CEO said. This is her answer.

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ANDI OWEN, CEO, MILLERKNOLL: Don't ask about what are we going to do if you don't get a bonus? Get the damn $26 million. Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what are you going to do if we don't get a bonus. I had an old boss who said to me one time, you can visit Pity City, but you can't live there.

So people leave Pity City, let's get it done.

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HARLOW: That is a clip that went viral according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The CEO there, Andi Owen, took home $5 million in compensation stock and a bonus. A spokesperson for the company told us here at CNN that her comments, Owen's comments were taken out of context.

Of course, we welcome her to join us on the show. This brings us to the question just how satisfied are Americans when it comes to their jobs? Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten is here with the morning's magic number. I know you love your job cause you literally hop across the studio here.

HARRY ENTEN, SENIOR DATA REPORTER: That's exactly right.

LEMON: No Pity City for you, sir.

ENTEN: I prefer Kitty City. Remember that store? I used to go there as a kid. It was a toy store. Anyway, all right, so this morning's number is, 45. 45percent of Americans say their job gives them a sense of identity, but 54 percent said it's just a job. This is according to the latest poll numbers back in 2021 and why this is so interesting, this 45 percent is cause I want you to take a look at this trend line of your job is more than just a job.

It gives you a sense of identity. Back in 1989, it was 57 percent, in the 90s, 55 percent, 2000s, 53 percent, 2010s, 50 percent, and it has now dropped all the way down to 45 percent. So there's clearly more fewer Americans saying that their job is more than just a job. It gives you a sense of identity. More Americans think it's just a job and take a look here.

Who thinks their job gives them a sense of identity in 2021? This is another interesting little nugget. High school grads just 33 percent versus post grads 54 percent. I think these folks may have it more, right? On the whole, even though I love my job, but if I had any other job, then I think it would probably be just a job.

LEMON: Is it good though? I mean, for your job to give you a sense of identity? I don't know. I mean, I guess for you, that's a different question. Is it fulfilling than giving you a sense of identity?

HARLOW: Right.

LEMON: Right.

[08:55:00] ENTEN: I guess it, you know, how much do you really love your job? Is it really a part of you? I think that's ultimately the question for me. It's a part of me. It's what I always want to do.

HARLOW: Oh, and we're glad you're doing it every morning here with us. Thank you, Harry, very, very much.

LEMON: Thank you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

LEMON: So there is a pint-sized security breach at the White House on Tuesday, or was one details of the tiny troublemaker that is straight ahead.

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JIMMY FALLON, NBC "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON" HOST: Today, a toddler crawled through the fencing outside the White House.

(LAUGHTER)

At first, the Secret Service thought it was just Pete Buttigieg. They're like, hey Pete, no. Go through the -

(LAUGHTER).

I mean, we're laughing, but when it happened one guy was like, Operation Baby was a success.

(LAUGHTER)

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LEMON: Operation Baby was, indeed, a success.