IN-DEPTH: Imagine If John Lennon Had Lived Past 1980: How AI Is Changing Our History

A visitor watches an AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign on an animated screen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona. Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images

There is a scene from the 2019 film “Yesterday” where protagonist Jack is overcome with joy at seeing a former Beatle member alive and well in a seaside cottage.

Music history is replete with such “what ifs.”