Artificial intelligence-generated music slipped into the 2026 Winter Olympics mix, as Czech figure skating siblings Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek competed in the rhythm dance segment to a mix of Thunderstruck by AC/DC and ‘One Two by AI (of 90s-style Bon Jovi)’ on Monday.
The choice of songs was confirmed by the International Skating Union, the sport’s governing body. The official Olympics website also lists ‘One Two’ as part of the duo’s programme.
AI-powered music has been widely debated, raising ethical concerns as well as questions about the replacement of human creativity in artistic pursuits. For their routine, the siblings received a total score of 72.09 — 40.50 for technical elements and 31.59 for programme components — placing them 17th overall.
It remains unclear which software was used to generate the track. Large language models (LLMs), which are trained on extensive libraries of music, can produce compositions that mimic the style of established artistes when given the right prompts. A request such as “in the style of Bon Jovi”, for instance, could result in a track that closely resembles the sound of the American rock band.
After initial scepticism, some musicians have begun experimenting with the technology to add new layers to their work. The 79-year-old actress-singer Liza Minnelli recently released her first new music in 13 years, featuring vocals set to an AI-created dance track. The song, Kids, Wait Til You Hear This, ventures into deep house territory.
Last month, AI voice-generation platform ElevenLabs collaborated with a group of musicians on a new album titled The Eleven Album. Participating artistes include Art Garfunkel and Minnelli. One half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, the 84-year-old Garfunkel said: “What impressed me about this experience was the respect for musicianship. The human remains at the centre. My voice plus the technology simply opens another door.”
Not everyone shares that enthusiasm. Ed Sheeran has voiced concerns that AI-generated music could undermine employment for human musicians. “If you’re taking a job away from a human being, that’s probably a bad thing,” he said. “The whole point of society is we do jobs and do things. If everything is done by robots, everyone is going to be out of work.”
In the rhythm dance competition at the Olympics, French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron finished first with a sleek routine set to Madonna’s Vogue. They were followed by the US team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who skated to a medley of Lenny Kravitz tracks — American Woman, Fly Away, Always on the Run, and Are You Gonna Go My Way — while Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier placed third with Supermodel by RuPaul and I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred.
