CCMSAI 2026

Central to questions of co-creativity and “AI”–which we define as both generative and assistive AI models built from machine learning and other computational systems–are the ways in which different types of artificial intelligence programs impact the music workplace. The following assembles highlights from a roundtable held during the conference that explores how AI music tools reshape the creative process as well as how labor operates in these spaces. Who creates AI tools for musical applications, who controls their operations, and who gets to use them? What are the costs and consequences of AI usage, from environmental destruction to power imbalances in the music industry? We came to this panel in order to discuss these crucial questions. This discussion draws on the expertise of five professionals located across popular music: scholars who study music production, producer-scholars, and professionals whose primary work is in production.