FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES On A.I.: 'It's Much Smarter Than We Are, And It's Gonna Get Even More Smarter'

In a new interview with Brazil's Heavy Metal On Line, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares spoke about the man-versus-machine themes of the band's early releases "Demanufacture" (1995),"Remanufacture" (1997) and "Obsolete" (1998) and how some of those lyrics are now more relevant than ever. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Back then the technology wasn't fully developed, but we read a lot of books and we saw that it was going that way. One of the futurist speakers, a guy named Ray Kurzweil, he was talking about this stuff back in the late '80s, early '90s, and we were really big fans of his and we learned a lot from him and just reading books. And it's definitely caught up. It's probably almost surpassed what we were talking about, but on the record 'Obsolete', man has become obsolete on that record. And we saw the transition way back then where the digital technology was taking over people's jobs. And that was just a little bit, and we saw that going. Now it's common. You have to adapt to where we are now."

Asked how he personally feels about this new digital era, Dino said: "Well, it affects everybody in many different ways. Me being a musician, you have the A.I. programs that'll write music for you, write songs. The thing about it is that the A.I. learns from the back catalog of endless vast of music, and where these search engines find this music is, obviously, from Spotify and everywhere else. The problem is that those companies are paying Warner Brothers and they're paying other record labels to have access and for them to grant the right for them to have these A.I. programs learn from this music. So basically these A.I. programs are using our music to write music for other people, and we're not getting paid for it, but the record companies are getting paid for it. And so, yeah, it affects us all. A.I. affects us all, and it's definitely taken away money from us as musicians."

Elaborating on how artificial intelligence and other advancements in technology have affected him as a musician, Dino said: "Well, we're gonna have to learn how to adapt, and some of the A.I. music programs have. So, basically, you could sell the rights to your voice, so these A.I. programs have your voice. So if somebody wants to hear your voice or something like your voice to be used on a record or for a song or whatever, these A.I. programs will pay you a royalty. So there are some companies that are adapting to it and some musicians who are adapting to it, but for the most part, we're pretty much all getting ripped off. And it's been that way for many years. Not necessarily in the A.I. programs, but getting ripped off in the music industry for many years."

He continued: "People are using all the music programs, actually using the songs, and they're putting it out on Spotify and everywhere else. I hear it on digital radio all the time. So it's here. I mean, we can all complain about it and talk shit about it, but until we actually get rid of all of our electronic devices, nothing's gonna change. For many years, it's already been adapted into our life, so most people don't even notice it. Everything that we say and do and post — comments, pictures, videos — A.I. learns from that. And it's learning more and more. And it's much smarter than we are, and it's gonna get even more smarter."

FEAR FACTORY recently announced a November 2026 U.S. tour with support from DARKEST HOUR and BROTALITY. The "Cybernetic Domination" trek will kick off immediately after FEAR FACTORY's upcoming co-headlining tour with Cleveland, Ohio-based masked metal masters MUSHROOMHEAD.

FEAR FACTORY's long-awaited new studio album is tentatively due later this year via Nuclear Blast. The LP will mark FEAR FACTORY's first release with the band's latest additions, singer Milo Silvestro and drummer Pete Webber, who have been part of FEAR FACTORY's touring lineup for more than three years.

Silvestro's addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in February 2023.

FEAR FACTORY's current lineup features Cazares, Silvestro, Webber and Tony Campos on bass.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and Webber on May 5, 2023 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, featured Cazares, Heller and original FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell.

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect, apparently referring to Cazares.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY had been a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it."

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)