In a recent interview for TIME’s Entertainer of the Year feature, Leonardo DiCaprio called artificial intelligence a potential “enhancement tool” for emerging filmmakers, yet expressed reservations about its influence on music and creative livelihoods.

“I believe anything that can genuinely be called art must originate from a human,” DiCaprio told the magazine. At the same time, he praised certain AI-produced mashups, describing some as astonishingly well done while drawing a sharp distinction between clever novelty and sustained artistic value.

“There are mashups that are just brilliant — you listen and say, ‘Wow, this is Michael Jackson singing like the Weeknd,’” he said, noting that those digitally composed crossovers can feel electrifying at first.

DiCaprio offered examples of AI-driven reimaginings — songs that transplant an artist into another style or pair voices who never recorded together — and conceded the immediate thrill such experiments can generate. But he warned the excitement often evaporates quickly, leaving little emotional grounding.

“The initial reaction is ‘cool,’” he said, “but the novelty burns out and it drifts into the endless stream of internet ephemera. Even when they’re brilliant, they lack the human anchor.”

The remarks arrive as AI-created acts and algorithmically produced tracks have made tangible chart inroads — with fictional projects such as Breaking Rust and Xania Monet recently registering high placements on digital sales charts.

DiCaprio also shared the music that still holds sway in his household: early blues artists often billed as “Blind,” like Blind Willie McTell and Blind Lemon Jefferson; classic vocal groups and crooners including the Ink Spots, the Mills Brothers and Johnny Mercer; plus jazz virtuoso Django Reinhardt and soul legends Al Green and Stevie Wonder. He said that era’s harmonies and warmth keep him calm and centered.

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