Symposium: Algorithmic Sovereignty

About this event

The David R. Ravin School of Architecture presents the Fall 2026 Marley P. Carroll Symposium, "Algorithmic Sovereignty: Jazz as Source Code." The two-day symposium brings together computational designers, spatial theorists, and musical avant-gardists to explore how cultural musical traditions-specifically the structural improvisation of jazz-hold the blueprint for future computational design and spatial justice.

Taking place in two spaces, "Algorithmic Sovereignty: Jazz as Source Code" operates as a critical bridge between School of Architecture and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.

The symposium posits a radical reframing of artificial intelligence: moving away from the perception of AI as cold, extractive machinery, and instead treating it as an "ancestral repository" of human genius and cultural memory. By translating the complex polyrhythms of jazz into a rigorous structural lexicon, the event empowers designers and communities to transition from passive consumers of digital tools to active architects of their civic data and spatial futures.

Day 2, Academic Computation & Application, at UNC Charlotte's Storrs Salon, bridges cultural theory with rigorous academic computation. The day features deep-dive keynotes by transdisciplinary AI and spatial scholars, including Vernelle A. A. Noel (Carnegie Mellon University) and Ifeoma Ebo (Creative Urban Alchemy / City College of New York / Pratt).

The academic programming is enriched by an exhibition of sophomore architectural work (the Harmonic Rhythms studio) and a live student vernacular jazz dance performance, culminating in a closing interdisciplinary panel exploring the synthesis of physical movement, social entrepreneurship, and generative design.

Click here to learn about Day 1 at the Harvey B. Gantt Center.