Would I ever use autotune?

As an aspiring musician and audio engineer, I am not opposed to autotune when it is used properly, subtly, and tastefully. The singer should be technically proficient in the first place. If 99% of listeners can't tell whether or not it is being applied, then it is probably okay.

There are also times when a great take was captured but a couple of bum notes stick out, in which case those couple of notes would probably be autotuned, as opposed to rerecording those two words or the entire take.

In this regard, autotune enables efficiency in the studio and security in live performance, but if the artist cannot sing properly in the first place, then it takes away the point of autotune's intended application.

However autotune can also be used as a special effect to make the human voice sound like a robot or whatever, so in this regard, it also serves as a tool for creativity.

The usage of autotune to compensate for a gross lack of proficiency and its inappropriate usage as a special effect seems to be what most people have against the invention.

To further explain the latter misuse, think of autotune as an effect, such as echo. You wouldn't want to apply so much echo on a lead pop vocal that the words are unintelligible like the singer is singing in a cave, just as you wouldn't want to make Billy Joel sound like a robot when he is singing the National Anthem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8smRRyoYGc