Periodic Tables – Dancing Machines: The Plight of Working Human Musicians in an AI World with Tift Merritt & Marc Ribot

Tuesday, March 17 at 5:00pm
Motorco Music Hall

Presented by Duke Arts, Duke Initiative for Science & Society, and Deep Tech Initiative

A composite graphic of two musicians

A Discussion with Grammy-nominated Singer-Songwriter Tift Merritt & Composer and Guitar Legend Marc Ribot

AI music generators allow anyone to “create” songs instantly from simple text prompts. The companies that make them are valued at billions of dollars. These platforms have been trained on the sum total of all recorded music, while the companies that make them deny allegations of copyright infringement. So what do they mean for working musicians, educators, and the future of music?

Please join us at a special Periodic Tables event hosted at Motorco Music Hall for a conversation with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt and composer/guitar legend Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, countless others).


About Periodic Tables

Periodic Tables is an informal science gathering during which invited speakers share interesting, relevant science with the general public in an engaging and interactive way. This series is hosted by the Duke Initiative for Science & Society.


This event is sponsored in part by Duke Arts, presenting Marc Ribot: Reframing Dylan at Reynolds Industries Theater on Thursday, March 19, at 7:30 pm.

Marc Ribot: Reframing Dylan

Marc Ribot: Reframing Dylan

Thursday, March 19 at 7:30pm

Marc Ribot performs re-interpretations and re-framings of Bob Dylan’s mid 1960s-era visionary poetry, the poetic environment from which Dylan’s work emerged, and the visionary poetry/music that emerged from it.

Register
When
  • Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 5:00pm
Where

Motorco Music Hall
723 Rigsbee Avenue
Durham, NC 27701

Venue Details
Notes

Free and Open to All