Gearnews column warns AI-built instruments risk losing their humanity

A columnist at Gearnews argues, in a piece published on 18 October 2026, that the recent surge of instruments built with AI tools risks stripping away the human element of musical instruments. Over the past month or so, the writer notes, a large wave of instrument plugins, third-party firmwares and enhanced hardware firmware has appeared, all made with AI tools of some kind.

The piece draws a parallel with the Fairlight CMI, the Australian instrument that in 1980 drew attention for its ability to recreate almost any sound. Peter Gabriel saw it as a way to make sounds nobody had made before, while many producers saw it as a replacement for expensive orchestras, and the U.K. Musicians' Union warned it could cost members their jobs. Samplers are now part of everyday music-making, and orchestras still exist, the writer points out.

On the new AI-built instruments, Gearnews finds the interface design often lacking and very similar from one to the next, since the tools are largely the same and many developers aim to recreate the sound of an existing synth. They can sound close to the originals, but playing them is "incredibly uninspiring", the writer says, adding that he often ends up just browsing through the presets.

The column singles out the plugins that do pay attention to UI and UX design as the ones worth encouraging, and notes that open-source projects can be given better interfaces by other developers. It also warns that the shared vision of a software company's team could be missed if the trend continues.