Questlove pulled an old magazine article based question out and put it to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis about new technology in the 80s.

He framed it - as if they were talking about AI.

The story goes, in a 1981ish issue of Rock and Soul magazine, Steven Ivory wrote a piece on an Oberheim synthesizer and an 808 or 303 drum machine showing up Quincy Jones studio and the reaction.

Michael Jackson, John Barnes (the engineer), and a few others were there and they all got into a conversation about it.

What’s the new tech mean? For musicians? For drummers? For - do we need horn sections anymore? And what else can we do with it?

Michael laments having to do so many takes of songs, because the machines can’t fix his voice, but maybe in 50 years they’ll figure that part out. When the computers can emulate a human voice. He’s pretty sure that’s coming, eventually.

But an engineer pushes back (possibly Barnes, but not positive), he believes the machines won’t ever be able to catch the sensitivity or emotion of something like “She’s Out of My Life” - he doesn’t think Michael should worry

But, in 50 years? Michael still wonders it. If they can do this now, what will they be doing in 50 years?

2031 isn’t that far away. And as Questlove says in the interview, it really might as well be AI they’re talking about. Synths and drum machines preceded ProTools and autotune, and just look where we are now, almost right on schedule.

And yet, think of all the creativity that came out of tools like the Oberheim synths in that period. The creativity killing machines sound pretty creative now.

“Jump.” “Blue Monday.” “Rockit.” “Let’s Go Crazy.” “Sussudio.”

I get the call back. I get “the Simpsons did it” fun of old predictions. But I’m still an optimist on man and machines and making cool stuff we can’t predict yet.