‘The Future of Music: Computer or Composer’

Music always involves some sort of technology, be it the wonders of the human voice, a hand drum, an electronic synthesizer or Pro Tools. But what role might advanced machine learning, or artificial intelligence, have in the future of artistic pursuits? Could a robot be the next Mozart or Lin-Manuel Miranda? Can algorithms coexist usefully with human rhythms and rhymes? This is the topic of “The Future of Music: Computer or Composer,” the latest in the KQED Silicon Valley Conversation series, to be held Thursday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen Way, Stanford. Moderated by KQED’s Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Tonya Mosley, the event will feature both discussion and musical performances by a panel of guests including Stanford University professor and computer-music expert Ge Wang (perhaps best known locally as the founder of the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, or SLOrk), Google research scientist Douglas Eck, who is studying machine learning and the arts via the company’s Magenta program, and composer/singer Amy X Neuberg, who incorporates electronics and computer-based looping into her work. Tickets are $10-$30.

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