Mick Gordon, the renowned composer known for his work on games like Doom (2016) and Killer Instinct, has voiced his strong opposition to the use of generative artificial intelligence in music creation. When asked about incorporating AI into his process, Gordon stated unequivocally, "F##k AI."
Gordon, celebrated for his experimental and often visceral approach to soundtracks, previously utilized unconventional methods such as sampling real chainsaw noises for Doom's iconic riffs and incorporating a kangling, a Tibetan instrument made from bone, for Killer Instinct. He believes that AI, by its very nature, will always lag behind human creativity.
"Generative AI is always going to be behind where humans are because it's going to be inherently trained off stuff that humans have already created," Gordon explained in an interview at PAX Australia 2026. He elaborated that AI draws logical conclusions from its training data, making it inherently limited and incapable of producing truly novel or forward-thinking work. "It's always going to be limited by its dataset, though. It's never going to be in a state where it's going to predict the next thing, the new thing, whatever humans can come up with."
Gordon is set to contribute music to the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, specifically for its final boss fight, and is also working on the soundtrack for Defect, a cyberpunk-themed shooter. In both projects, his music will be the product of his own creative efforts.
He expressed optimism that audiences will continue to seek out human-created art. "Humans are always going to want to interact with other humans. Always," Gordon asserted. "And I feel this AI stuff is just giving people more reason to abandon this digital infection that we have with our lives now. I feel that humans are always going to chase that human connection."
Fans in the UK will have an opportunity to experience Gordon's work live when he headlines the RADAR festival in 2027, performing music from Doom and Doom Eternal with a full band.