Doom 2016 Composer Mick Gordon Says "F##k AI"

Australian composer Mick Gordon is celebrated for his innovative musical techniques. In 2013's Killer Instinct, he utilized a kangling, a Tibetan instrument typically fashioned from a human bone, to create a theme for the skeletal character Spinal. For 2016's Doom, he famously recorded real chainsaw sounds to craft distinctive guitar riffs that transformed the game's soundtrack into a heavy metal classic.

When asked about the possibility of incorporating generative AI into his creative process, Gordon's response was unequivocal. He emphatically stated, "F##k AI." This assertion was made during an interview at PAX Australia 2026, where he expressed his distaste for AI, stating, "I won't do that."

Gordon is set to score Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, released on October 14, where he once again contributes a bone-chilling track for the game's final boss fight. He is also actively working on the soundtracks for Defect, a cyberpunk first-person shooter developed by creators of Doom and Call of Duty. In both projects, Gordon emphasizes that his music is a direct product of his own artistic vision and skill, not an AI-generated output.

Generative AI, Gordon argues, will always lag behind human creativity due to its reliance on existing human-created data. He explained, "Generative AI is always going to be behind where humans are because it's inherently trained on stuff that humans have already created. It creates a large database of what it's been trained on, and then it draws a very logical conclusion on whatever that dataset is."

Gordon remains optimistic about the enduring appeal of human-made art, emphasizing that "humans are always going to want to interact with other humans." He also expressed concern over the growing reliance on digital interfaces, stating, "I feel that humans are always going to chase that human connection." For UK-based fans, Gordon will provide a rare opportunity for a human connection when he performs live at the 2027 RADAR festival, featuring a full band and playing music from his Doom and Doom Eternal soundtracks.