Activities
Upcoming Events:
- June 26-28, 2026: Keynote at the Conference “Managing the AI Transition”, Berlin
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We’re Officially Recognized as a Nonprofit!
The final step toward the official recognition of the &ai Foundation has been taken: The Koblenz Tax Office has officially recognized our status as a nonprofit! We are delighted to finally be able to get started as a foundation and to begin initial discussions with potential grant recipients.
And, of course, we can now issue donation receipts for donations!
In accordance with our bylaws, we support the following purposes:
- Promotion of science and research (Section 52(2) Sentence 1 No. 1 AO)
- Promotion of art and culture (Section 52(2) Sentence 1 No. 5 AO)
- Promotion of public and vocational education as well as student aid (Section 52 (2) Sentence 1 No. 7 AO)
Feel free to contact us—whether you are a potential donor or if you can connect us with interesting individuals whose projects we can support to advance the responsible use of AI in music and art!
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Successful start of our presentations: “The Disruption of Meaning – Music, AI, and Ethics” at TU Munich
On May 28, 2026, we celebrated our first public presentation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). As part of a Knowledge Sharing Session hosted by Munich Music Labs, Joachim spoke on the topic “The Disruption of Meaning – AI, Music, Ethics.” It was a highly interactive event, with intense engagement from both the in-person and online audiences.
We kicked off with a blind comparison of two versions of a short film scene. One version featured AI-generated music (Google’s Lyria 3 model, prompted to track shifts in mood second by second), while the other featured a purely human-composed score. The result of the blind test was stunning: even today, listeners could no longer clearly distinguish which music was of human origin and which was machine-made.
It was only upon closer analysis that the crucial difference became clear. The human composer added an extra layer of meaning to the scene through his music. He deliberately used an 8-bit video game aesthetic, acoustically transporting the audience into a completely different world than the visuals suggested. (You can watch the uncut clip featuring the award-winning music here on YouTube). The AI failed to generate such a subtle, secondary layer—even though a “genre change” had been explicitly requested in the prompt.
As the evening progressed, we examined how new technologies have transformed music production over recent decades. On one hand, they break down barriers to entry and democratize access to music creation—culminating today in “prompt-to-song” generators. On the other hand, they lead to standardization (such as song structures heavily altered by streaming) and fierce market crowding. When the market is flooded with mass-produced songs, standing out musically becomes increasingly difficult.
Naturally, questions of copyright and the ecological footprint of AI data centers were also raised. However, especially within the Munich Music Labs community, one central question took center stage: How can we design technology and software to expand human agency and creative integrity, rather than subtly suppressing them through software design?
The subsequent debates on AI authorship, machine consciousness, and the broader societal impacts resonated long after the event concluded. A thoroughly successful kickoff for the &ai presentation series!
Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich; Auditorium: Building 0502, Ground Floor, Room 220
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&ai at the Creative Futures Forum
May 12th 2026, Musikpark Mannheim
L’art pour l’art or l’art pour l’algo?
That was one of the hot debates at the Creative Futures Forum, organized by the Cluster Creative Economy in Mannheim (moderator: Dr. Matthias Rauch). A great mix of expertise and perspectives:
Dr. Dorothea Winter shared scientific research about the impact AI has on creativity. She firmly stated that while AI can succeed in the mediocre, it does not have the capability to create something truly transformative and new. She took a clear humanistic perspective here, fitting well to our own core beliefs:
Artistic creation is a profoundly human act.
Dr. Matthias Röder on the other side shared insights from his own AI projects in music, like letting AI completing Beethoven’s 10th Symphony or his current work on the Mozart Junior project. He clearly says: „Within 3-5 years, we’ll have original AI artists who are competing with human artists.“
A point we’d like to discuss more deeply: what is actually an ‚original AI artist‘, how can it be independent from the humans who created it?
Clair Bötschi presented a Stuttgart based art competition (You-Transfer) where the jury is completely implemented as an AI algorithm. The 2026 version of the competition will even require artists to submit a work of art along with an AI agent which then will debate with the other submissions who the winner of the competition will be.
While this kind of competition is a very interesting piece of art itself and immediately creates a discourse about fairness, decision making, and more (art needs to create discourse and disagreement!), I’m concerned that this is actually devaluing the (human) art submitted to the competition – the focus is automatically more on the competition than on the winner.
At &ai, we’ll be providing grants to people working on and with AI in music and art in a responsible and conscious way. I am certainly not considering letting AI be the jury who decides on the grants.
I clearly put l‘art pour l’art above l’art pour l’algo.
The day was rounded with two workshops:
- Benjamin Jantzen created a video by using audience keywords and gave us deep insights into his creation process
- Björn Tillmann showed how he uses the neural audio tool R.A.V.E for sound design work in a highly considerate way, using open source software run on local machines, trained only on material that he provided himself.
For our mission to promote ethical use of AI in music and arts, this was a very insightful and rewarding day. Lots of angles to discuss and take into account when we prepare to select our first works that we will be funding.
Connect with us to continue the discussion or to share projects and undertakings that you would see a good fit to &ai!
(posted by Joachim, Chair of &ai)
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&ai at GEMA’s panel: AI and Creativity
May 6th, 2026, Berlin, Atelier Gardens
Laura represented &ai at the panel “AI and Creativity – Who Owns the Music of Tomorrow?” during the GEMA GEMA General Assembly on May 6th in Berlin. It was a great opportunity for networking: our mission to use AI responsibly and keep human creativity at the center naturally finds common ground here.
Moderation: Ela Steinmetz , frontwoman of the trio Elaiza
On the panel:- Awet Tesfaiesus: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
- David Schliesing: Die Linke
- Christopher Wieduwilt (The AI Musicpreneur): Founder, artist consultant
- Anja Kathmann: GEMA/Political Communication
The debate highlighted the tension between technological progress and the protection of intellectual property from various perspectives.
Christopher clarified that some providers (e.g., ElevenLabs) are already training on licensed data and that AI offers potential beyond song generation, such as voice restoration, voice licensing, or stem splitting. However, transparency obligations are often still lacking outside the EU.
Anja emphasized GEMA’s pioneering role as the first collecting society to file lawsuits in this context. She made it clear that GEMA does not reject AI as a tool but strictly opposes the unlicensed use of creative works. Protecting copyright remains the central task.
From a political perspective, Awet warned of the social consequences of an unregulated market. She stated there is an urgent need for action, otherwise society will experience a loss of spaces for discourse. Music and art are important pillars of democracy whose diversity must be preserved.
David Schliesing focused his contributions on labor law implications. He expressed concern for the professional world of creatives—from composers to lyricists—who risk losing their fields of work to AI systems. He called for legal regulation, describing the current state as the “Wild West.”
As moderator and practicing musician, Ela brought an important observation from the community: creatives are already joining forces and, for example, consciously recording their own backing vocals to strengthen the human component. She expressed the wish for a dedicated, valued segment for “handmade” music—comparable to an “bio certificate” that clearly identifies human creativity and distinguishes it from AI-generated content.
During the subsequent Q&A session and following conversations, Laura was able to introduce our foundation and establish valuable contacts. We look forward to collaborating with everyone interested in the industry! Follow and let’s talk! -
We are officially recognized as a foundation
Effective April 29, 2026, &ai has been recognized as a foundation by the Supervision and Service Directorate (ADD) of Rhineland-Palatinate! This makes us official, and we will immediately apply for non-profit status with the tax office (which has already been positively reviewed in advance).
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AI can do Art – Panel Discussion
April 28th 2026, 6pm, Microsoft Berlin
What a start! Our first public appearance by &ai took place on April 28 at Microsoft in Berlin. Moderated by Andre Hansel (Microsoft), our board member Joachim discussed how AI is changing the definition of art, the new possibilities it brings, and the risks associated with it, alongside Ornella Fieres (media artist), Dorothea Winter (philosopher and AI ethicist), and Johanna Neuschäffer (gallerist).
Over 150 attendees participated vibrantly in the panel discussion and the subsequent networking session – a fantastic opportunity for &ai to gather broad feedback on our project and hypotheses, as well as to establish contacts for future collaborations.
The event also provided our board members, Laura, Martina, and Joachim, with their first opportunity to coordinate our strategy and plan next steps in person rather than virtually.
We have also published short event reports on LinkedIn:
Many thanks to Christian Kruppa for the photos!
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Conference “Managing the AI Transition”
June 26.-28., 2026, Berlin, Schwanenwerder
With support from the Alumni Association of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes), the conference “Managing the AI Transition – From Hype to Action” will take place in Berlin at the end of June.
&ai will deliver a keynote speech on the disruptive shifts that AI is currently triggering within the music industry. Additionally, we are assisting in the organization of a dedicated conference track.