Timbaland says AI can speed up music but taste stays human

Producer Timbaland says artificial intelligence can make creative work faster, but it still cannot decide which ideas are actually worth pursuing.

The four-time Grammy winner discussed AI and creativity during ADVANCE 2026 in New York, with a newly published recap of the conversation setting out how he believes musicians and other creators can work with increasingly powerful technology.

Timbaland’s position is broadly optimistic. He sees AI as another tool capable of helping people move from an idea towards something they can hear, see or develop much more quickly.

AI can help people express ideas

One opportunity he sees is for creators who have musical ideas but lack all the traditional skills required to turn them into finished recordings.

Someone may have a song in their head without being an accomplished singer, instrumentalist or producer. AI could make it easier for that person to communicate the idea and begin developing it.

For Timbaland, however, access to the technology is not what makes someone distinctive.

As the same AI tools become available to millions of people, the technical ability to generate something becomes less unusual. Choosing what is worth creating, recognising what works and developing a distinctive identity remain human decisions.

Creativity becomes more important when tools are shared

That could become increasingly significant as AI lowers some of the traditional barriers to producing music, images and video.

If everyone can generate polished material quickly, Timbaland believes creative judgement becomes more valuable rather than less. Technology can accelerate the process, but it cannot automatically give someone taste or an original point of view.

His message is therefore not that musicians should compete against AI. It is that creators will increasingly need to decide how to use the technology without allowing the technology to decide who they are.

Image credits: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez