Ali Nikrang

“At least until artificial intelligence makes us smarter, it won’t change the world for the better.”
AI generated text (Grover, AllenAI)

Ali Nikrang is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher at the intersection of music and AI. He works as a researcher and artist at the Ars Electronica Futurelab and is also a professor of AI and musical creation at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. He studied Computer Science at Johannes Kepler University as well as Composition and Piano at the Mozarteum University.

As a musician and AI researcher, he has carried out numerous projects that connect AI and music. His work explores the artistic possibilities of AI in music, particularly through the development of the compositional software Ricercar, an AI system that addresses the specific artistic demands at this intersection. Results of artists’ interactions with Ricercar have been presented in various concerts and events; an example is the concert Continue.Music, held in cooperation with the Munich Philharmonic and Brainlab AG in Munich in October 2024.

His works have been showcased at prestigious conferences and exhibitions such as the Biennale Musica in Venice (2024), the Misalignment Museum in San Francisco (2023), and the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg (2023). Additionally, he has served as a jury member for competitions like the Prix Ars Electronica (2023) and Musikfonds STIP-4 (2024). Since October 2024, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Culture and Arts at the Technical University of Munich.

Key research topic: Creative Intelligence

Key Works

Walzersymphonie

To mark the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss Jr., students at renowned music universities get the opportunity to work with Futurelab’s creative composition AI Ricercar.

Ricercar

Interactive AI-based music composition system where human users and the AI system discover the potential of a musical idea in a collaborative way.

Sounding Letters

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ars Electronica Futurelab and Center, their initial letters served as a basis for composing with the AI system Ricercar.

Mahler-Unfinished

Attempt to complete Gustav Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony using an AI system for the composition, performed by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz with artistic visualization.

Further Works

back to Team

Additional Information

Articles

Nikrang, A., Künstlerische Co-Kreation mit KI und die Frage nach der Individualität, In: Fokus Künstliche Intelligenz, herausgegeben von Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, öffentlichen Dienst und Sport, 2024

Nikrang, A., Breckner, K., Neumayr, T., Hirschmann, F., Augstein, M., AI Creativity in the Light of Autonomy, In: Artificial Intelligence, Co-Creation and Creativity, Routledge, 2024

Nikrang, A., Absolute Data: Exploring the Essence of Artistic Data creation by AI, In: Biennale Musica, Catalogue of the 68th International Festival of Contemporary Music, La Biennale di Venezia, 2024

Nikrang, A., KI in der Musik, der Anfang einer neuen Epoche?, In: com.POSITION, Ausgabe 6, herausgeben von Deutscher Komponist:innenverband, 2023

Ali Nikrang: Artificial Creation of Meaning? The Fascination and Limitations of AI-based Music Composition, Daejeon Biennale 2020 catalogue (Daejeon Museum of Art) [English, Korean]

Ali Nikrang: Die Simulation der Kreativität: Können Maschinen kreativ sein?
Wissenschaftsjahr 2019, Künstliche Intelligenz, 22.11.2019 (Scientific year 2019, Artificial Intelligence)

Nikrang, A., Sears, D., and Widmer, G.: Automatic estimation of harmonic tension by distributed representation of chords, International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research, Matosinhos, Porto, 25-28th September 2017. (Printed as a part of revised selected papers in Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 11265)

Nikrang, A., Collins, T., and Widmer, G. (2014). PatternViewer: An Application for Exploring Repetitive and Tonal Structure. In Late-Brake Demo of the Proc. of the 15th International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference, Taipei, Taiwan. 19

Ali Nikrang: Interactive Visualisation of Musical Structure with a Focus on Automatic Pattern Discovery (Master thesis, Johannes Kepler University, 2014)

Talks

„KI, Kreativität und Kunst“, in Tagung Automatisiertes Lernen?, Akademie für politische Bildung Tutzing in Kooperation mit der Bayerischen Landeszentrale für politische Bildungsarbeit und dem Bayerischen Volkshochschulverband, 31.01.2023-01.02.2023

Science and Art – a desirable symbiosis? (Panel Discussion), at the Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI) of the University of Vienna, 16.01.2023

Lecture: AI & Art for Media Studies, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, 18.12.2022, 25.12.2022

Workshops for the Mannheim University of Music on the topic of AI and creativity from a musical perspective, 23.11.2022

„DER COMPUTER ALS KOMPONIST UND AUTOR, Gehört ihm auch im Kreativen die Zukunft?“ Kepler Salon, Johannes Kepler University, 07.11.22

Keynote „Künstliche Intelligenz und Kreativität: Eine technische Perspektive“,
WIKOIN 2022 – Wissenschaftskongress in Ingolstadt (anlässlich des 550. Jubiläums der ersten Bayerischen Landesuniversität), 01.07.22

Panel „Künstliche Intelligenz, Kunst und Kreativität“, WIKOIN 2022 – Wissenschaftskongress in Ingolstadt (anlässlich des 550. Jubiläums der ersten Bayerischen Landesuniversität), 01.07.22

(Wie) Kann K.I. Kunst? Technische und geisteswissenschaftliche Perspektiven im Dialog, Dozent bei dem dreitägigen Seminar der Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, 8-10.04.2022

Künstliche Intelligenz & Kunst – ein Widerspruch? Vortrag bei der Ringvorlesung Künstliche Intelligenz und Digitalisierung in Kunst, Kultur und Gesellschaft, Technische Hochschule Aschaffenburg, 05.04.2022

AI Creativity in the Light of Arts and Music, Microwave New Media Arts Festival (Hong Kong), Unconference 反轉研討會 2021. together with Alexander Mankowsky, Philipp Jordan and Diane To, 9.11.2021

Artistic Journalism meets Artificial Intelligence: Understanding AI. Lecture together with Hideaki Ogawa and Andreas Bauer (featuring Ali Nikrang from minute 52:00). 29.10.2021

The Question of Autonomy and Human Intention in Art & AI (Episode II), Panel together with the visual artist Davide Quayola, sound artists Paola Torres Núñez del Prado and Leslie Garcia
presented at Ars Electronica Festival 2021 in the framework of the European ARTificial Intelligence Lab, 11.09.2021

NAKED AI, Panel and performance as a part of the screening of Cisco and Logotel produced documentary (Naked AI) about artificial intelligence and human creativity at Ars Electronica Festival 2021. Together with Daniele Cerra, Anna Milani, Vincenzo Scagliarini, 11.09.2021

The Question of Autonomy and Human Intention in Art and AI. A panel together with Maya Indira Ganesh, Isabella Salas and Yuri Suzuki, MUTEK Festival Montréal, Canada, 27.08.2021

AI & Musical Creativity
Daejeon Biennale 2020 AI, DAEJEON MUSEUM OF ART, 30.12.2020

Artistic Journalism: AI x Music
with Hideaki Ogawa, Ars Electronica, 12.11.2020

Inside Futurelab: Ricercar
Ars Electronica, 8.12.2020

DEMO: The Big AI-Jam — AI meets musical diversity
Ars Electronica Festival 2020

AIxMusic — Artificial Stupidity
Moisés Horta-Valenzuela, Artemi-Maria Gioti, Ali Nikrang, Alex Braga and Portrait XO
Streamed live on September 13, 2020

Artificial Creativity or Enhanced Humanity
Christine Payne (OpenAI), Lamtharn Hantrakul (Google Magenta), Ali Nikrang (Ars Electronica Futurelab) and Clara Blume (Open Austria)
Streamed live on September 13, 2020

Ars Electronica Mix: Inside Futurelab AI meets Music
Streamed live on May 13, 2020

Vortrag: Wenn Computer Emotionen in uns hervorbringen, AI x Music exhibition, AEC
18. January 2020

Simulation der Genialität – KI trifft auf klassische Musik, Globart Academy
19 October 2019

Automatic Music Generation with Deep Learning Fascination, Challenges and Constraints, Ars Electronica Festival 2019

Get Inspired — Linz 2027

Creative AI – Style Transfer, Ars Electronica Festival
2018

Automatic estimation of harmonic tension by distributed representation of chords. International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research (CMMR), Matosinhos, Porto, 25-28th September 2017

Deep Space LIVE: Künstliche Intelligenz — die Revolution hinter dem Hype

Streif trifft auf Artificial Intelligence, Lange Nacht der Forschung, AEC Linz 2018

Media

Künstliche Intelligenz: Mensch oder Maschine, Profil.at, 25.01.2023

„Kreative Maschinen. Die Erweiterung des musikalischen Spektrums durch KI”, Deutschlandfunk, 29.11.2022

Musik von Künstlicher Intelligenz beim Wissenschaftskongress in Ingolstadt, BR-Klassik, 30.06.2022

Applaus – aber niemand sitzt am Klavier? Ein Konzert mit Künstlicher Intelligenz, Augsburger-allgemeine, 01.07.2022

Komposition einer Künstlichen Intelligenz aufgeführt, Bayerische Rundfunk, 30.06.2022

Weltpremiere: Das Georgische Kammerorchester Ingolstadt spielt Kl-Kompositionen mit selbstspielendem Flügel, kulturfreak.de, 21.06.2022

Sounding Letters — Visualized AI/Human composed piano performance, 22.10.2021

Deep Space: AI-composed music, performed by humans, 13.07.2021

Creative (Artificial) Intelligence, Inside Futurelab: 25th Anniversary Series — Episode 3 , 04.06.2021

Algorithmen – Warum sie schwarze Menschen diskriminieren
BR Fernsehen , 05.12.2020

Naked-AI, What happens when Artificial Intelligence and Human Creativity meet?
Cisco Italia/Logotel Documentary, 25.11.2020

Digitales Österreich
ORF, 16.11.2020

Composition from the can
including short demos from our Ricercar and MuseNet (OpenAI), Deutsche Welle, 14.11.2020

RFT OÖ Award 2020: Forensik-Expertin Adelheid Kastner für ihr Lebenswerk ausgezeichnet
Tips, 29.10.2020

Digital Data in major and minor
Ars Electronica Blog, 29.10.2020

“So würden wir Menschen nicht komponieren“
Volksblatt, 28.10.2020

Of rhythms and algorithms
Ars Electronica Blog, 13.10.2020

Musik bei der Ars Electronica: Echte Gefühle, frisch aus der Maschine
Salzburger Nachrichten, 07.09.2020

Ars Electronica: Exklusivität und Idylle in Linz
Salzburger Nachrichten, 11.09.2020

Porträt, Ali Nikrang
Tagesspiegel, 12.08.2020

Ars Electronica am neuen Linzer Uni-Campus
Die Presse, 24.08.2020

AI x MUSIC: Artificial Creativity or Enhanced Humanity
[Time code: 00:00-55:20]
Panel discussion at Ars Electronica Festival 2020, 13.09.2020

Das Ende des Genie-Kults. Kann Künstliche Intelligenz besser als Beethoven sein? Wo bleibt die Kreativität, wenn Algorithmen komponieren? Über das Zusammenspiel von künstlerischer Kreativität und künstlicher Intelligenz.
3SAT, Kulturzeit, 02.07.2020

Kann Künstliche Intelligenz besser als Beethoven sein?
ORF, Kulturmontag, 29.6.2020

Zukunftspodcast, episode 2, Interview with Benjamin Hartwich
Live Radio, 13.12.2019

Der Code des Künstlers, TV Documentation, Artificial Intelligence
Bayerischer Rundfunk, 22.10.2019

AIxMusic Festival 2019
Ars Electronica Documentation, 03.10.2019

AIxMusic Dialogue I – Komposition, Interpretation, Reproduction — 3 shades of creativity
Dorf TV, 02.10.2019

Radiokolleg, (Maschinenmusik)
Austrian Public Radio Ö1, 30.09.2019

AI Making Musical Strides with MuseNet
Seeflection, 25.09.2019

Matrix, (Ars Electronica Festival)
Austrian Public Radio Ö1, 16.09.201

Completan sinfonia de Gustav Mahler usando Inteligencia Artificial
El Siglo de Torreón, 11.09.2019

AIがクラシックの巨匠と肩を並べた？マーラー未完の曲を「完成」
AFPBB, 10.09.2019

Stejně dobrá jako Mahler? Umělá inteligence dokončuje nehotovou symfonii
Časopis 100+1, 10.9.2019

Ars Electronica 2019: Wie künstlich ist die Musik
Heise online, 10.9.2019