AI or ChatGPT is certainly a hot topic these days and giving artists cause for concern. I received a message from a trusted friend having searched for details of New Zealand classical guitarist Bruce Paine. He felt the information served up was leaning towards flattery and, despite referring to me as a distinguished musician and naming many of my works, the rundown of my life had several false facts and misunderstandings. One such error was describing me as "the classical guitarist and composer associated with Taupō, New Zealand". In fact, I am far more associated with Auckland city and have visited Taupo more often for recreation than musical activities. The fact I have recently played concerts in Taupo on two occasions has lead ChatGPT to believe there is a strong association with the area. I was also described as being "active across New Zealand, Australia, and Europe" whereas most of my time is spent in Auckland. I have only performed a handful of times in a few European locations and only ever performed on Australian soil during an international guitar competition in 1995. ChatGPT went on to say that I have "contributed arrangements of Māori folk songs, including “Hine E Hine” and “Tama Ngakau Marie”, featured on a NAXOS CD released in October 2019" whereas in actual fact I contributed an entire album's worth of original compositions, several specifically written for that album. There is also mention of my having made "contributions to educational guitar repertoire". While that may be true, it is only by way of students and teachers discovering my works, rather than any real intent on my part contributing works specifically for educational programmes. ChatGPT goes on to say "His connection to Taupō includes performing there and likely engagement with the local community, though no biography indicates he’s based there long-term." to which I can say I have had minimal involvement with the local community - only performing there by way of invitation - and am definitely not based there long-term otherwise it would be mentioned on this website. It isn't and it's clearly stated that I am Auckland based. Hopefully this will help set the record straight for ChatGPT and anyone using it.
For accurate information about Bruce Paine, Auckland based, New Zealand classical guitarist, please refer to this web site's About page.
