In this episode, we talk with Maya Ackerman, an AI researcher and entrepreneur at the forefront of AI-assisted creativity. She shares how her journey from machine learning research to opera singing led to the creation of Wave AI, a company focused on co-creative AI tools for songwriting.

Maya Ackerman explores how AI can be a true creative collaborator, rather than just a content generator. She introduces the concept of “humble creative machines”, AI that enhances human creativity while keeping artists in control. We discuss AI’s theory of mind, biases in generative models, and the future of AI-assisted songwriting.

Dr. Maya Ackerman is a world-renowned expert in artificial intelligence and creativity, focusing on co-creativity and its transformative potential across industries. Ackerman is a researcher, entrepreneur, and professor of AI at Santa Clara University. She is the CEO of WaveAI, the company behind LyricStudio, a widely used AI songwriting tool. Her work has been featured in Forbes, NBC, and NPR.

Nils Petter Molvær snakker om hvordan han kombinerer jazz med elektroniske og ambiente elementer, og hvordan improvisasjon og teknologi har formet hans unike sound. Han reflekterer over musikkens evne til å kommunisere på tvers av språk og hvordan han skaper et uttrykk som speiler hans personlige identitet som musiker.

Nils Petter Molvær er en norsk jazztrompetist, komponist og produsent. Han betraktes som en pionér i å kombinere jazz og elektronisk musikk. Han har mottatt en rekke priser, blant annet fire Spellemannpriser som soloartist og tre som medlem av bandet Masqualero.

In this episode, we meet Shayan Dadman, a computer scientist and PhD candidate at the University of Tromsø. Shayan's work focuses on developing AI systems that align with individual musical tastes, aiming to foster collaboration between humans and technology. He shares his journey from studying software engineering to creating systems for jazz composition and beyond. We delve into the challenges of building small, personalized models, the role of reinforcement learning in music generation, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding AI-created content.

Shayan Dadman is a computer scientist from Iran who’s now a phd candidate at the University in Tromsø. His goal is to develop an AI system that resonates with individual musical tastes, forming a collaborative and interactive connection with users.

I denne episoden møter vi sanger, låtskriver og doktorgradsstipendiat Ingvild Koksvik. Hun deler innsikt fra sitt kunstnerisk-vitenskapelige prosjekt om plateproduksjon fra et musikerperspektiv. Vi diskuterer konsepter som romlighet i musikk, kompositorisk intensjon, og hvordan teknologi som Dolby Atmos åpner opp for nye kreative muligheter. Episoden gir et innblikk i hvordan ideer utvikles til ferdige produksjoner, og hvordan nye lydformater utfordrer og utvider kunstneriske prosesser.

Ingvild Koksvik er sanger og låtskriver som har gitt ut flere album, skrevet bestillingsverk og spilt konserter i inn- og utland. Nå er hun også doktorgradsstipendiat på UiA.

I denne episoden forteller Eyolf om når han overrasker seg selv i improvisasjon og når han leker Audun Kleive på MIDI keyboardet sitt. Han forteller hvordan han kan spille i to forskjellige tempo samtidig med høyre og venstre hånd og om at en G dur ikke bare er en G dur. Han snakker om å stå opp kl 6 på morgenen for å øve, om Paolo Vinaccia's trykkbehandling og mye mer..

Eyolf Dale er en norsk pianist og komponist kjent for sitt solospill og vellykkede samarbeid med en rekke jazzmusikere, samt sitt arbeid med kjente band som Eyolf Dale's Wolf Valley, Albatrosh, Daniel Herskedal, Hayden Powell Trio og Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Siden solodebuten i 2011 har han markert seg som en av sin generasjons ledende pianister på den europeiske jazzscenen.

Han har turnert over hele Europa, USA, Japan og Kina, både som solist og med andre artister.

Han har vært nominert til Spellemannprisen for sine soloalbum i 2013 og 2016. Med duoen Albatrosh, sammen med saksofonist André Roligheten, ble han kåret til "Årets unge jazzmusikere" i 2008 og vant prisen "Beste band" i European Jazz Competition i 2010.

Did you know that in 2017, a robot named Sophia was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot to receive legal personhood in any country?

In this conversation, Jovanka v. Wilsdorf discusses her role as musical director at Hansen Robotics, and her work with Sophia the Robot. She emphasizes the importance of curiosity in creativity, the need for compassion in AI development, and the Diana AI Song Contest that encourages musicians to explore AI tools in songwriting. The discussion highlights the evolving relationship between musicians and AI, advocating for a collaborative approach that enhances creativity rather than replacing it.

Jovanka von Wilsdorf is a creative consultant, the founder of the DIANA AI Song Contest and the musical Director at Hanson Robotics.

Valerio Velardo shares his journey from classical pianist to AI music engineer, researcher and entrepreneur. He discusses the development of Melodrive, the first real-time adaptive music engine for video games, and the growth of The Sound of AI, a thriving ecosystem with over 9,000 members.

Throughout the conversation, Valerio delves into the role of open source in AI music, the limitations of current AI music models, and the potential of neuro-symbolic integration for music creation. They also explore the future of AI-generated music in interactive content, the relationship between AI and human creativity, the role of AI in music education, and the ethical considerations of copyright in generative music.

Valerio Velardo is an AI music engineer, entrepreneur, and researcher with a passion for the intersection of AI and music. He builds AI music products and startups, consults in the AI music space, and helps companies hire and form AI teams. He founded Melodrive, the first AI music engine for generating real-time video game soundtracks, and later sold the company in 2020. Valerio also runs The Sound of AI, a YouTube channel and community with over 9,000 members, offering education and consulting services on AI music. Currently, he's writing The AI Music Revolution for UC Press.

Learn about how AI mimics human creativity by selecting and combining impression molecules and answers to the question “is there anything unique about human creativity that AI can't capture?”

Dr. Esther Fee Reinhardt is an expert in AI and sound. She studied computer science and musicology at the Julius-Maximilians-University in Würzburg.

She completed her doctorate at the International Audio Laboratories Erlangen. Her research focuses on timbre analysis in audio signals using feature-based approaches and optimized artificial neural networks.

As an improvisation coach and composer, she is intensively involved with human creativity and relates this to the current mechanisms underlying hypothetically creative AI systems.