India, Nov. 19 -- Popular English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney has joined a growing chorus of British musicians pushing back against artificial intelligence, not with a soaring melody, but with near-total silence. His latest release, a wordless, barely-there track added to the B-side of the protest LP Is This What We Want? as a bonus track, uses almost nothing but hiss and stray studio sounds to underline what artists say is at stake if AI companies continue mining their work without permission.

According to a report in the Guardian, at two minutes and 45 seconds, the piece runs as long as some of his classics, yet offers no tune, no guitar, and no familiar warmth. Instead, listeners get the ambience of an empty studio, roughly a min...