Do Machines Make Music?

From ninth-century Arabic musical automata to the vast, electricity-driven synthesizer of 1896, the idea of machines making music is far older than we might imagine. Digital technologies continue this trajectory in astonishing ways, giving millions the musical powers unimaginable a century ago, and creating a strange ‘arts race’ between human and machine.

But can a machine truly understand music, or only simulate it? As we increasingly integrate technology into our creative lives – and even our bodies – this lecture asks where our musical selves end and that of our machine collaborators begin.