As one of the first students in MIT’s new Music Technology and Computation graduate program, Mariano Salcedo ’25 is researching the intersection between artificial intelligence and music visualizations.
Specifically, his graduate research focuses on neural cellular automata (NCA), which merge classical cellular automata with machine learning techniques to develop images that can be regenerated.
When paired with a stimulus such as music, these images can “show” the sound in action.
“This approach enables anyone to create music-driven visualizations while taking advantage of the expressive and sometimes unpredictable dynamics of self-organized systems,” says Salcedo. Through the web interface designed by Salcedo, users can adjust the relationship between the energy of the music and the NCA system to create unique visual displays using any music audio stream.
“I want the visuals to complement and enhance the listening experience,” he says.
Last year Salcedo, the Alex Rigopulos (1992) Fellow in Music Technology and Computation, received a BS in Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making from MIT, where she explored signal processing in machine learning and how a classical understanding of signals can inform how we understand AI. She is now one of five master’s students in the inaugural cohort of the Music Technology and Computation graduate program.
The program, directed by Aron Egozy ’93, MNG ’95, professor of practice in music technology, is a collaboration between the MIT School of Music and Theater Arts and the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. It invites practitioners to study, explore and develop new computational approaches to music. It also includes a speaker series that introduces students and the broader MIT community to music industry professionals, artists, technologists, and other researchers.
Rigopoulos ’92, SM ’94, is a video game designer, composer, and former CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he co-founded with Egozi in 1995. Harmonix is now part of Epic Games, where Rigopoulos is the director of game development for music.
“MIT is where I was able to pursue my passion for music technology decades ago, and that experience was the springboard for a long and gratifying career,” says Rigopoulos. “So, when MIT launched an advanced degree program in music technology, I was thrilled to fund a fellowship to help advance this exciting new program.”
Egozi is excited about Salcedo’s work and his commitment to further exploring its potential. He says, “She is a beautiful example of a multidisciplinary researcher who thinks deeply about how to best use technology to enhance and expand human creativity.”
Salcedo has been selected to deliver the student speech at the 2026 Advanced Degree Ceremony for the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. “It’s an honor and it’s also challenging,” he says. “It feels like a big responsibility,” though he’s eager to embrace it. His selection also pleases Egozi. “I am very excited that Marino was chosen as this year’s keynote speaker,” he enthuses.
change gear
Growing up in Mexico and Texas, Mariano Salcedo couldn’t easily pursue his passion of making music. “There are no bands in Mexican public schools,” he says. While some families could afford to pay for instruments and lessons, other families like Salcedo were less fortunate.
“I have always loved music,” he adds. “I was a listener.”
Salcedo began his MIT journey as a mechanical engineering student, applying to MIT through the QuestBridge program. He recalls, “I heard that if you liked engineering and science, going to MIT would be a good choice.” “Idiots are welcomed and embraced.” As he dutifully worked towards completing his MechE course, a chance encounter with the LLM led to music and technology.
“I was introduced to the LLM chatbot and was amazed,” he recalls. “It was something that spoke to me. I was both terrified and horrified.” After his encounter with the chatbot, Salcedo changed his major from mechanical engineering to artificial intelligence and decision making.
“I basically started after completing two-thirds of the Mekai course,” he says. He learned about the possibilities available with AI, but also encountered some of the challenges facing researchers and developers, including its potential power, ensuring its responsible use, human bias, limited access for people from underrepresented groups, and a lack of diversity among developers. He decided he might be able to change that picture.
“I thought one more person could make a difference in this area,” he says.
While completing his undergraduate studies, Salcedo’s love for music was rekindled. “I started DJing at MIT and got hooked,” he says. Although he didn’t learn to play traditional instruments, he discovered he could create fascinating soundscapes with technology. He added, “I bought a digital audio work station to help me make music.”
Egozi and Salcedo met in 2024, while Salcedo completed an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program rotation as a game developer in Egozi’s lab. “He was incredibly curious and developed a lot in a very short period of time,” Egozzi says. Egozzi became an informal, albeit important, mentor to Salcedo. “He brings a lot of energy and thoughtfulness to his work and supporting others [music technology and computation graduate] Program,” Egozi notes.
Salcedo also took a class with Egogy, 21M.385/21M.585/6.4450 (Interactive Music Systems), which further whetted his appetite for creativity, while also allowing him to further his fascination with the possibilities of music. By taking advantage of the courses in the HASS curriculum, he developed his understanding of music theory and related technologies.
“I took a class with Professor Leslie Tilley, 21M.240 (Critically Thinking in Music), which helped establish a valuable framework for understanding music creation,” he says, “while classes like 6.3000 (Signal Processing) helped me connect intuition with science.”
working on different topics
While Salcedo is passionate about his music and his research, he is also invested in building relationships with his fellow students. He is a member of the fraternity Sigma Nu, where he says he “found a home and community.” He also took a MISTI trip to Chile in the summer of 2023, where he conducted music technology research. Salcedo admires the culture of camaraderie at MIT and is grateful for its influence on his work as a scholar. “MIT taught me how to learn,” he says.
Professors encouraged him to present his research and findings. They presented their work – Artificial Dancing Intelligence: Neural Cellular Automata for Visual Performance of Music – at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference in Singapore in January 2026.
Salcedo believes his research could potentially extend beyond music visualization. “What if we could improve ways to model self-organized systems?” he asks. “That is, systems such as multicellular organisms, flocks of birds, or societies that interact locally but exhibit interesting behavior.” Salcedo says that any system where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The development of the technology used to design their applications could potentially help answer important ethical questions regarding the continued expansion and development of AI. The path to growth in his work is both difficult and lonely, but those challenges nourish his work ethic.
“It’s intimidating to move down this path when the academy is currently focused on LLMs,” he says. “But it’s also important to explain and explore the base technology before moving into more nuanced work that can help the audience understand it better.” Knowing that she has the support of her professors helps Salcedo maintain enthusiasm for her ideas. “All they ask is that we base our interest in research,” he says.
His investigation is affecting his work as a musician. “My music has become more interesting because of the classes I’ve been taking,” he says. He is also interested in understanding whose music the academy and the world listen to, exploring biases against Western music in the canon, and figuring out how to reduce biases related to what type of music is valued.
He believes, “The work we do as technologists is much less subjective than we are led to believe.”
Salcedo is especially grateful for the support he has received during his tenure at MIT. “The program faculty encourages a variety of activities and asks us to pursue our personal goals rather than focusing on our goals,” he says. During his time in the graduate program, he noted with enthusiasm how often he has been challenged to pursue his ideas.
Ultimately, Salcedo wants people to experience the joy he feels working at the intersection of the humanities and science. Music and technology influence almost everyone. Inviting audiences into your lab as participants in the creative and research processes provides the same kind of satisfaction they get from crafting a great beat or solving a thorny technical challenge. Helping audiences understand the value of their work fuels their drive to succeed.
“I want users to feel the movement and fully understand the sounds and their impact,” he says.
