CCMSAI 2026

Ecosystemic music is a framing of musical systems based on natural ecosystems. Just as energy moves through ecosystems, so too does sound and data move through musical systems. By making this connection between musical systems and ecosystems explicit, I examine how the study of ecosystems can inform the creative and technical choices in the design of these systems. The role of AI in ecosystemic works is twofold: first to enable data and sound processing at a larger scale than has been possible, and second to provide a method of decision making that is distinct from human interpretation. These systems fundamentally propose a method of improvising or performing with AI systems. I examine these dynamics through two approaches to developing systems for co-creativity using algorithmic composition and AI. The first approach is the use of algorithmic systems for recording analysis and playback that respond to real-time inputs such as performer audio or listener presence. The second is the use of autoencoders, either in the preparation or performance stage, to facilitate real-time interaction with data sets and a corpus of recordings.