Three Musicians, One Engineer: Building AI Systems for Musicians in Minneapolis

As engineers, we have a gift: we can build systems for which we are not the intended users.

Minneapolis has a rich musical culture. There are incredible jazz musicians and venues in this city, and there's a running joke about not being able to throw a rock without hitting an indie recording studio. Japan revolutionized the world of music with smartphones. How can we do the same with AI in Minneapolis? It's time we built locally: tools to discover local music, software written for our artists, systems that drive real growth for the people making music here.

I'm inviting three musicians working in different areas to sit down and talk about the problems they face in their daily lives, and how we can make their lives easier so they have more time to make music:

• An educator
• A live performer
• A producer

DAW Accessibility. You can tell that designers weren't involved in building tools like Logic Pro, Ableton, and Reaper. How do we make these systems easier to use?

Generative AI & Ethics. Generative AI in music raises real questions. We'll talk about existing software, what musicians like and don't like about it, and where the ethical lines are. I explored some of this in my article, "Much Ado About AI: An Artist, a Writer, a Musician, and an Engineer Walk Into a Debate."

AI in Education. How can we use AI meaningfully in teaching music?

Local Music & Trends. What kind of music are Minneapolis musicians making and interested in making? Who are the stakeholders: who's making music, who's listening, who's going to live shows?

• Beginner
• Development
• Startups
• Emerging Tech
• AI/ML
• Design
• Wildcard
• Other