Who is SYNDI8, HYBE's new AI-generated pop group?

HYBE has launched a new AI-powered artist, girl group SYNDI8. But how does it all work and what's the controversy?

HYBE has launched a new AI-powered artist, SYNDI8, throwing yet another spanner in the debate around AI-generated music and copyright. And this time, it's a girl group.

The K-pop mega label behind the likes of BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NewJeans, SEVENTEEN, and more unveiled SYNDI8 (pronounced "Syndi-eight") in late June, following weeks of teasers on social media. The group is made up of four members named Canary, Nest, Goyo, and Raven, who hail from the fictional realm of Nansy Land and deploy "voice magic" using "unique magic tools."

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For SYNDI8, HYBE teamed up once more with AI voice tech company Supertone, which was acquired by HYBE for ₩45 billion (approximately $32 billion) in 2022. HYBE launched its first AI-powered artist MIDNATT last year with Supertone, a virtual alter ego of Korean singer Lee Hyun using his vocals, and featuring specially developed multilingual pronunciation correction technology.

Who is SYNDI8, really?

SYNDI8, Forbes reports, uses AI voice synthesis to create artificial speech that mimics human voices. Supertone's signature AI speech synthesis technology, the NANSY (neural analysis and synthesis) model, "has the special ability to divide and re-assemble voice components", Supertone president Kyogu Lee told Music Business Worldwide.

Member-wise, there's a whole backstory to SYNDI8's origin published on the band's website, detailing the four SYNDI8 members Canary, Nest, Goyo, and Raven.

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According to the group's website, "Nest is the daughter of a scientist from the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) tribe. Canary is the daughter of a chieftain from the Canary (Serinus canaria) tribe. Raven is a hunter from the Common Raven (Corvus corax) tribe. However, Goyo is the only human in Nansy Land."

SYNDI8's debut release, MVP, launched June 27, features three singles "My Fantasy," "ATOTA," and "True Color."

An accompanying YouTube clip titled "Magic Voice Prism: The Journey Begins", credits Kayle of Supertone as executive producer alongside Han and Deja as A&R and voice director, and Chaiyeon Cho and Haeon as tech director. At present, it has 53K views, which is relatively modest by K-pop standards.

But the group's beginning has already been beset with backlash.

Yes, there's already controversy around SYNDI8

Since SYNDI8's release, allegations of plagiarism have emerged around the group's illustrations. Fans have also called out HYBE for the similarity between SYNDI8’s name and that of SEVENTEEN’s Xu MingHao, who’s known as The8.

Virtual groups aren't anything new in K-pop, with artists like K/DA and aespa defining the push into the metaverse and other virtual worlds. K/DA's League of Legends-based members are all voiced by real singers — (G)I-DLE's Miyeon and Soyeon, Madison Beer, and Jaira Burns. And AI-generated group Eternity uses face-swapping tech and AI-generated voices.

But it remains to be seen how audiences respond to HYBE's latest experiment with AI-generated music. HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk told Billboard in 2023, "'I have long doubted that the entities that create and produce music will remain human." And it's not just K-pop; YouTube is reportedly talking to major U.S. labels for AI music deals.

Musicians in the U.S. have been vocal about the threats AI poses to human creativity and compensation, with 200 artists, including Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, and more, signing an open letter in April denouncing AI in music. The letter specifically called out companies that were "employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders."