The state Department of Transportation is playing AI-generated, “island-themed” songs on rotation at HNL, one per hour, from 5 a.m. to midnight. No state funds were used, we’re told. A clever intern and a free Suno subscription, we’re guessing.
Hawaiʻi has one of the most distinctive musical traditions on the planet. A rich scene of local artists who would, by all accounts, love the exposure. But the state landed on a different solution: an AI tool that generates lyrics like “from the baggage crew to the TSA line, everything’s fine.”
To be fair, the traditional playlist still runs the rest of every hour, licensed from real artists. The AI songs were added on top of that, at no additional cost, which does raise the question of what exactly we’re optimizing for here. The answer appears to be: synthetic, vaguely Jawaiian vibes.
Every hotel in Hawaiʻi is selling authenticity. The culture, the sense of place, the feeling that you couldn’t get this anywhere else… that is the product. HNL is the front door. And right now, the front door is playing AI slop. Listen and decide for yourself.
And of course, we couldn’t help ourselves, listen to our HHH AI Original tune “Local Voice, No Delay” (it is so bad it is good). I wonder if we can get Henry Kapono to record it! 😉😉
