About Filii Regni

On the use of artificial intelligence

I am the writer and composer of these songs and the executive producer of the project. I write the lyrics, and I direct and guide the melody, the arrangements, and the overall musical style. Creating these works is not a matter of a few clicks: it requires many hours of work, discernment, refinement, and adjustment. Without artificial intelligence, however, these songs would be practically impossible to realize, for lack of time and resources.

AI is, for us, a tool, just as electronic instruments have become in music. Just as a digital piano can reproduce the sound of a grand piano, the tool does not replace the intention of the heart, but allows it to be heard. What stands at the center of our approach is not technology, but inspiration and message. These songs are composed in prayer, with the hope that they may touch souls and kindle a movement toward God.

It is also worth noting that the term "artificial intelligence" is, in a sense, misleading. What we are dealing with is very advanced software: highly sophisticated digital tools, much as Photoshop is for image editing or a sequencer for musical composition. These tools can produce remarkable results, but they understand nothing, feel nothing, and have no intention of their own. True intelligence, the capacity to know, to love, and to tend toward God, is a gift that He alone can bestow upon a soul. In that sense, the name "artificial intelligence" describes a technical achievement far more than a spiritual reality.

Some have suggested that using AI to generate music is equivalent to taking work away from professional musicians. We understand the concern, but we think it misses an important distinction. When a homeowner uses power tools to build a deck or renovate a room himself, he is not stealing work from contractors - he is doing something he would have done himself regardless, or that simply would not have been done at all. The same logic applies here. These songs were never going to be produced by a professional studio with a full ensemble of musicians, a recording budget, and a distribution deal. They exist because a small team, working in faith and in the margins of already full lives, was able to use a combination of tools - AI music generation, audio post-processing software, and various other programs for mixing and adjustment - to bring them into existence. This is not point-and-click work; it involves real creative decisions, technical iteration, and hours of refinement at every stage. These tools, in this context, do not replace professional musicians any more than a power drill replaces a carpenter. They give voice to something that would otherwise have remained in silence.

To give you some context: I am the father of 13 children, I hold a full-time job, and I am the co-founder and chairperson of the board of a private Catholic school. These songs simply would not exist without these tools, not for lack of intention, but for lack of time. If you would like to support this musical mission, or that of the Catholic school, feel free to reach out privately through the testimonial form below.

— Mathieu Desmarais