muuic&AI: Concert and Panel Discussion event at Carleton College. February 20, 2025. Watch the video and listen to our podcast episode! Photo Credit: Rachel Bingham/Carleton College

My interdisciplinary collaborations explore AI applications for music performance. Much of this work engages questions regarding power and representational politics in AI development: how do large, corporate AI music models (which are typically trained on mainstream pop music) stand to inform “traditional” and “classical” repertories and performance practices in the Global South? How might early interventions change the course of emergent music technology by, for example, empowering musicians to integrate local epistemologies and values within AI-driven tools?

I seek to combine teaching, research, and performance through this project. I’ve been working with a team of undergraduate student assistants, a music technologist, and a musician to train AI music models for Arab oud improvisation, with the goal of making our fine-tuned model accessible for music teachers to implement in their courses. Our February 20, 2025 event at Carleton College showcased the early development of our fine-tuned model, an interdisciplinary panel discussion, and live oud performance by our collaborative partner Omar Abbad. Watch the video here. This work was also featured in a podcast episode with Carleton.