The creator of the Touhou Project, Jun’ya ‘ZUN’ Ōta, expressed skepticism regarding the role of generative AI in music creation. During a livestream, he stated, “AI can easily make music. But that’s not the point of music, you know.”

ZUN emphasized that true value lies in the human experience behind the art: “What actually matters is that there are living humans behind it all. Humans who create things can beat technology just by creating things.”

However, he noted a caveat, suggesting humans are often at a disadvantage to business interests: “However, humans probably can’t beat business… This idea that people need to do business while they’re alive is just a result of us all being poisoned by capitalism.”

ZUN’s perspective comes into light as many companies, like Krafton, pivot to becoming “AI-first,” raising concerns about the use of AI to diminish human creativity.

In his latest title, he incorporated generative AI but described it merely as a tool: “I want to reduce it to nothing more than a tool,” he claimed, asserting his competitive edge in creative work.

Ultimately, while ZUN challenges the use of AI, he also navigates its implications in his projects, revealing a complex relationship with the technology.