I Gave a Talk at a College About AI—and No One Booed

I Gave a Talk at a College About AI—and No One Booed

From Insanely Generative by Paul Henry Smith

May 29, 2026 · 14 min

About this episode

The episode explores the nuanced relationship between AI and creativity in music and education.

What if students aren’t booing AI because they hate technology, but because they can smell the difference between a tool that helps them think and a machine that helps someone else avoid thinking? In this episode, I want to poke at that difference with a tuning fork. We’ll visit Oberlin, a conservatory, some AI-generated Bach, a dance performance using Suno, and the strange fact that nobody booed when AI was used to make music-making richer rather than cheaper. The question isn’t whether AI can make more music. Of course it can. The better question is: can it help humans hear more deeply, practice more intelligently, and make something real happen in a room? That’s where things get interesting. Get full access to The Generative Gazette at generativegazette.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Host: Paul Henry Smith

Topics covered

  • AI
  • music
  • technology
  • education
  • creativity
  • performance

Keywords

  • AI
  • music
  • Oberlin
  • Bach
  • Suno
  • creativity
  • technology
  • education

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Suno

Books & works: Bach

Places: Oberlin

More episodes of Insanely Generative

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Insanely Generative podcast page.