(Chad Blair/Civil Beat/2018)
HONOLULU (April 28, 2026) — Travelers passing through Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) are currently facing a new kind of “island spirit”: 17 AI-generated theme songs playing hourly over the public address system. The tracks, which celebrate baggage crews, TSA lines, and “Aloha every day,” have sparked a massive backlash from locals and musicians who argue the “AI slop” is displacing Hawaii’s vibrant, real-world music scene.
The controversy gained traction after Kyle Dahlin, a math professor and Kailua native, used song-detection software to identify a track that sounded “unfamiliar.” When the search came up empty, he realized the department of transportation had pivoted to synthetic music. Critics point out that for a state agency to bypass local performers in a region world-renowned for its musical heritage—from slack-key guitar to the legacy of Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole—is a “lost opportunity” for the community. “There are a lot of people I went to high school with who would jump at the chance to create music like that for the exposure,” Dahlin noted.
The tracks, produced at no cost to the state, feature Jawaiian-style earworms with lyrics about “helping the keiki” and “ohana at HNL.” While state transportation spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige maintains that the AI jingles are only played at the top of the hour—supplementing a human-curated playlist that costs the state $10,500 annually—the volume and “soulless” quality of the AI tracks have dominated social media discussions. On Reddit, airport workers and travelers have complained about the jingles playing “loud as hell,” even in the airport basements, leading the DOT to briefly pull the songs for a volume correction.
The HNL controversy arrives as the Hawaii legislature grapples with the economic impact of artificial intelligence. House Bill 2357, which sought to prohibit streaming platforms from distributing music attributed to AI-generated “artists,” was recently deferred by the House Judiciary committee. This legal deadlock comes as a United Nations report warns that musicians could see their revenues drop by as much as 24% due to the influx of AI content. For now, HNL continues to be a testing ground for the “automation of Aloha,” even as 97% of global listeners in separate studies claim they can’t distinguish between human and machine-made tracks.
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