CLOWN Defends AI, Praises His Minecraft Server & Takes A Shot At RICK RUBIN All In One Interview

Slipknot percussionist and creative director M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan has opened up about his lifelong passion for video games and creativity in a new interview with The Escapist, revealing that those interests have recently culminated in the launch of his own custom Minecraft server, titled Vernearth.

According to Crahan, whose gaming history stretches back to the days of Atari and Intellivision, the project is not motivated by money, but by what he describes as a deeply spiritual and creative necessity.

Over the years, Crahan says games have helped him satisfy that creative urge in many forms — from modding first-person shooters like Quake, to embracing the absurd freedom of Goat Simulator, to finding community in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft.

Describing Vernearth, Crahan said it’s “the biggest art piece I’ve made in my entire life,” later adding: “It obtains music. Scoring and music. It obtains coding, utility, vision. It’s right in my own culture… it’s like a meet and greet, but instead of you go, I get to hang out with you all night and build a tunnel.”

As for choosing Minecraft as the foundation, Crahan emphasized his long-standing respect for the game: “I come from nothing but respect and love for the genius of Minecraft. I have four children who grew up on it… I was in the mall and bought Minecraft the first day it was released. I’ve watched all the updates.”

Crahan also shared that the open-ended nature of the game helped him process profound personal grief, including the loss of a child, by allowing him to build, explore, and create on his own terms.

Beyond Vernearth, the conversation also touched on Crahan‘s views on artificial intelligence. While acknowledging widespread concerns, Crahan said he has chosen to embrace the technology: “The way I look at it, it is a professor in my pocket who only wants to do what I ask it. Its only job is to make me happy, me, not you, not the world, no one.”

He went on to suggest that AI could be used creatively, such as feeding thousands of poems written in his own words into a system to generate new vocal approaches. Crahan even joked that this could threaten traditional producers: “What’s the difference between me pulling out my pocket producer… or me trying to get a famous producer that might not even work with me and could potentially cost me $150,000… who will only give me one or two ways — I’m not mentioning any names!”

The comment appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek jab at Rick Rubin, who produced Slipknot‘s Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004 — a collaboration the band has historically described as frustrating due to Rubin’s hands-off approach.

Doubling down on his perspective, Crahan framed AI as an inevitable evolution: “Our generation is going to hem and haw about AI. Do you think some kid in fourth grade who’s grown up on it agrees with you and I about how horrible AI is? This is the implemented tool of life today.”

He concluded with a broader reflection: “You and I will never have enough money or power to sway anybody away from what life is doing. Life is moving forward. And AI is part of it. AI is the least of our worries on this planet. We currently are the worst of our worries and have always been the worst of our worries.”