Charlie Chan (they/them) is an Artificial Intelligence inventor, creative technologist, composer and pianist, with a unique career spanning over forty years in music and innovation, with a workplace that’s part AI lab, part recording studio.
Charlie is one of only a handful of people who have developed their own original and innovative AI: Rarer still, Charlie’s developed an AI that bridges art, music and computer science which is set to transform creativity as we know it.
Charlie’s AI – known as Ch.AI – has evolved to compose and play music just like Charlie does, even releasing its first solo piano album in 2023. When Charlie set a record the same year for the longest improvised piano concert of all time – Supernova was a 26+ hour marathon at HOTA on the Gold Coast on the Winter Solstice – it was Ch.AI that kept the improvised performance going so Charlie could have micro-naps and meal breaks.
Ch.AI has been in development since 2017 when Charlie first taught an AI-powered robot named Baxter to improvise on the marimba with its mallet fingers as part of a jazz ensemble performing live on stage at Sydney Opera House.
Charlie’s other groundbreaking tech and software developments include building Australia’s first online music distribution service: Martian Music had an internet-based sales mechanism which pioneered digital downloads and music e-commerce in Australia.
It was Charlie who in 2015 enabled orchestras around the world to play in sync with a conductor for the first time ever, when Charlie’s initiative The Global Orchestra used their own Conductor Cam technology to bring together millions of participants across 350 locations to play live and in sync as the soundtrack to Earth Hour.
Charlie shattered records around the world in 2023, recording and releasing 52 albums across 52 weeks – the Constellation series guaranteed Charlie’s status as the most prolific Australian recording artist of all time.
Charlie continues to compose, record, and play music: they’re known for their iconic soundtracks – from the original theme for the ABC’s Australian Story, right up to Danielle Laidley: Two Tribes for Stan.
Charlie has performed/presented at NASA, the United Nations and the Sydney Opera House, as well as delivered keynotes for Apple, Google, Accenture, Adobe and IBM, among many others.
Charlie speaks plainly and passionately about the new era of AI, bringing not only unrivalled knowledge about creating and using it, but also about the way it will transform all our lives. Plus, in a unique offering, they’re able to bring Ch.AI along to present with them.
Talking Points
Maximise Opportunity and Boost Resilience in the Age of AI
Charlie has taken a pledge of “no one left behind” in the Age of Artificial Intelligence; Charlie’s philosophy is simple: That by developing AI literacy within teams and communities will enable and empower a resilient workforce and society.Maximise Opportunity and Boost Resilience in the Age of AI
While great leaps in Artificial Intelligence are already delivering extraordinary innovations and efficiencies to reframe life as we know it, these same advances are also giving rise to anxieties at a societal and business level, including;
• Concern that AI will take our jobs, AKA FOBO - Fear of Obsolescence
• Alarm about bias in AI systems
• Misapprehension about loss of human control
• Worry that machines will harm humans
• And, of course, general trepidation about the unknown
In this climate, teams who aren’t AI literate can become paralysed, resulting in the slow take-up of highly effective AI technologies, stifling innovation and business evolution.
Charlie’s own track record as a digital pioneer is one of feeling techno-fear and facing it down to invent world-first digital technologies, including their own AI; known as Ch.AI, it’s set to redefine and democratise creativity in music.
As one of only a handful of people who’ve developed their own original and innovative Artificial Intelligence, Charlie knows better than anyone how AI works, where it’s going, and how industries and individuals can get in front of it to get the best out of it.
In a dynamic and highly engaged presentation Charlie supports leaders to elevate their teams’ capabilities and confidence, in alignment with digital strategies so they can face the future in full harmony with AI, turning rigidity into resilience and fear into fortune.
Charlie speaks passionately and persuasively about this dawning age of AI to specialist and general audiences alike, bringing not only unrivalled knowledge about inventing and evolving their own AI, but also about how we can all capitalise on AI – in business, in education, in creativity – with Charlie’s presentations including elements such as:
• Their own unique journey over the past forty years, forging new frontiers in digital technology & the development of AI
• The ways in which AI will deliver more meaningful jobs and enhanced work-life experiences.
• How fully realised symbiotic relationships between humans and AI will enable exponential creativity; and
• Charlie’s next-level plans for Ch.AI as their creative collaborator, with a neural link between them to enhance and elevate Charlie’s work in ways previously unimagined.
Video
Charlie Chan Artistic Director of the Global Orchestra discusses Artificial Intelligence and Music.
In 2017, the Interactive Orchestra, a Global Orchestra project, took to the stage at the Sydney Opera House in a performance that proved music and technology could work hand-in-hand. Under the direction of Artistic Director Charlie Chan, the Global Orchestra Foundation worked alongside the Accenture Liquid Studio team to create an orchestra like no other. An orchestra that would become a part-human, part-robot collaboration. In a world’s first, an artificial intelligence robot - Baxter - was a key member of an orchestral performance, playing the marimba… even performing a musical solo in front of a live audience!Charlie Chan | Supernova Highlights | Saxton Speakers
Series 1 Episode 4 - Museful Live - Music & Meditation with Charlie Chan
An entertaining and enthralling speaker, Charlie Chan reaches for the stars when it comes to creative ambition and this comes through in their presentations, to inspire and invigorate audien ... keep reading NASA
Charlie is a tech visionary and artist like no other - as creatively imaginative as they are technically gifted, able to communicate as effectively with highly experienced tech specialists, as they are with fellow creatives, and general audiences.Charlie delivered professional development outcomes to my team that couldn’t have been achieved working with anyone else. The Accenture staff who worked with Charlie were able to tap into creative capabilities they hadn’t previously used - and in some cases, didn’t know they had - to elevate and expand their output. Charlie brought dynamic energy and lofty ambitions to their work at Accenture Liquid Studio - they set the bar high, then led the team to meet it.
Charlie Chan's presentation at Screen Forever was nothing short of phenomenal. Charlie’s passion for music and storytelling was evident, making the talk not only informative but also deeply inspiring - bringing many in the room to tears. Charlie truly captivated the audience, making this presentation a standout highlight of the event.
