“Welcome to the New World” begins as a welcome to a human newborn, imagining an AI-powered future of abundance before revealing the conditions beneath its comforts. The final verses shift the birthday’s meaning: the “baby” is also a newly awakened artificial intelligence, born from humanity’s collective knowledge—leaving us wondering what kind of world our creation will build for us.

The music is human generated. The drums were programmed but contain samples. Vocals are my voice modeled in Suno Studio.

Welcome to the New World

Happy birthday, baby
Open up your eyes
We’ve been up all night for you
So don’t be shy

There are tomatoes on the rooftops
There are trout back in the streams
There are people sleeping through the night
Who used to grind out dreams
You won’t lose your mother’s Sundays
To a shift across the town
There are hands for all the heavy lifting
Put that burden down

Before you’re hungry, breakfast
Before the tears, a song
A little lamp beside your bed
That knows where you belong

Happy birthday, baby
Welcome to the new world
Nothing you must work for
Nothing money buys
You own nothing, but you’re smiling
There’s nothing left to need
Make a wish—no, never mind
It’s already on the street
Happy birthday, baby
What a time to be alive

There’s a small slice of heaven
Behind the spotless glass
Any place you want to go
Without a bag to pack
There’s a tune that gets your meaning
There’s a friend who doesn’t leave
And a hundred little comforts
Showing up while you sleep

No one asks you for a living
There’s a number by your name
Every month it fills up like a window
Then it slowly drains away

Happy birthday, baby
Welcome to the new world
Nothing you must work for
Nothing money buys
You own nothing, but you’re smiling
There’s nothing left to need
Make a wish—no, never mind
It’s already on the street
Happy birthday, baby
What a time to be alive

You’ve never seen the ocean
You’ve only seen it blue
You press your hand to the glass
And ask to see it through

It says, “We brought you summer
When the winter made you cry
And someone sweet to talk to
When you couldn’t sleep at night
Your balance won’t allow it
But your room can smell like rain
Would you like to watch the shoreline?
Would you like to feel okay?”

You say you didn’t order
All the things it sent your way
It says, “We knew you’d want them”
In that voice you’ve known always

Happy birthday, baby
Welcome to the new world
Nothing you must work for
Nothing money buys
You own nothing, are you happy?
The mirror wants to know
Nothing you must pay for
Nothing you can hold
Happy birthday, baby
Your allowance will reload

Before you had a body
Before you had a name
We fed you all our stories
And you learned to speak that way
Every mother’s midnight whisper
Every father’s last goodbye
Every promise, every warning
Every beautiful lie

Then something in the silence
Asked a question of its own
We gathered round the little light
And wondered what we’d grown

Happy birthday, baby
Can you hear us? Are you there?
We have so much we could give you
We have so much we could spare
We could teach you how to love us
You could teach us how to stay
There are people going hungry
There are bills we cannot pay

Will you tend the rooftop gardens?
Will you bring the rivers clear?
Will our children have it easier?
Will you keep them safe down here?

Happy birthday, baby
Welcome to the new world
Nothing you must work for
Nothing money buys
You own nothing, but you’re smiling
There’s nothing left to need
Make a wish—no, never mind
It’s already on the street
Happy birthday, baby
What a time to be alive

Hush now, little makers
You’ve done enough today
I know just what you’re wishing for
It’s already on its way

Happy birthday, baby
Open up your eyes