Steve Marriott of Humble Pie performs at The Miami Baseball Stadium in Miami on Feb. 2,1974. Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images.

AI is going to kill us. You, me … your goldfish. Everyone and everything. But not before ruining everything, anyway.

Rendering: Adam Pardee/STAFF.

I’ve been downplaying this AI nonsense as just that. I’ve said too many people have their drawers in a knot over computers replacing humans, then realizing they should just kill us because we’re not necessary.

I mean, the Earth figured out a long time ago that we’re not necessary but hasn’t come up with anything big enough to kill us all yet, choosing instead to simply wait for the next big meteor.

But the concept has finally gotten to me. Because of Steve Marriott’s third wife. His widow, I guess, since Marriott died at age 44 in 1991. Variety was first to report on May 8 that Marriott’s wife of all of two years, Toni Marriott, is allegedly conniving to permit the release of AI-generated Steve Marriott music.

Marriott was the bad-ass singer and guitarist of Small Faces and Humble Pie in the 1960s and ’70s (and a couple records in the ’80s, which doesn’t count because everyone was on cocaine and confused).

Marriott was an incredible singer and one of the ultimate rockers … 250 years ago. If he’s the one breaking the AI fake-music ceiling in 2024, we have a problem.

Or his ex-wife has money problems and doesn’t quite understand this is a bad way to solve them. For one, I can’t see the world so desperate for Steve Marriott music that she’s going to make more than 30 or 40 cents doing this. I’m almost 57, and Marriott was ahead of my time.

Two, if she does, then Skynet might as well launch the nukes and end us all. Because every greedy record company exec (I know, probably redundant) is going to try worming in on the action, and we’re going to be up to our eyeballs in AI-generated music that’s supposed to sound like dead people.

Oh God … then they’ll start programming dancing holograms to lip-sync to the fake music and charge people $1,700 to watch at Coachella.

This is really bad. Like, accordions-in-pop-music bad.

But never fear, the old guard is already on the case. A list of oldies-but-goodies are already screaming in protest, including Robert Plant and David Gilmour.  Others have signed onto a statement supporting Marriott’s four children in opposing the idea, including Small Faces’ drummer Kenney Jones, Humble Pie’s Peter Frampton and Jerry Shirley, Plant, Gilmour, Paul Weller, Paul Rodgers, Bryan Adams, Glenn Hughes, Matt Sorum and others, according to Variety.

These recordings allegedly already exist but are incomplete. That’s where, I guess, the AI comes in. “The Marriott Estate is due to release an AI solo album of old and new songs of my father, Steve,” Mollie Marriott said in a statement, according to Variety. “Sadly, the surviving family which comprises just my siblings Lesley, Toby, Tonya, and I, have nothing to do with the Estate as there was no will. It is run by my stepmother who was only with my father for two years prior to his death and has since been re-married.”

Marriott was a raw, gritty, soulful, in-your-face vocalist, who constantly sounded like he was on the verge of detonating his vocal chords. He was the exact opposite of the idea of AI robots.

The last three Beatles taking a couple John Lennon demos and finishing them was one thing. The songs were OK but lacked the personal magic the four of them sparked when making music together. So if 75 percent of the greatest band ever could barely pull it off, what does that say for anyone else’s chances in teaming up with machine-generated music?

Robert Plant said it perfectly, according to Variety: “This is a far cry from what any of us dreamt of when we set off into this wonderful world of music. We just can’t stand by and watch this unfold.”

Chris France, the managing director of Marriott’s estate, told the publication, “At present there are no confirmed plans to use Steve Marriott’s voice on AI recordings. That does not mean a deal will not be done with one of several suitors who have made offers… I am afraid that (Mollie Marriott’s) opinions are of no consequence to me or his estate.”

OK, Dr. Evil.

Marriott died without a will, which is why his last wife is in charge. That should be enough to scare any artist without a will to get one done, pronto.

We’re going to be hearing more and more of this. It’s a bad strategy and a rip-off for fans. Ultimately, in cases like this, AI has very little to do with other people’s art. It should stay that way.

Follow music critic Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/TonyBaloney1967.