Holly Herndon is an American musician and media artist who has gained international acclaim for her pioneering work merging machine learning, art, and music. Building her own dynamic and disruptive musical universe at the edge of electronic and avant-garde pop, she earned her Ph.D. in Computer Music from the Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). This in-depth academic research served as her artistic foundation, and she has since continued her scholarly pursuits by holding faculty positions at the European Graduate School, the Strelka Institute, and the Antikythera Program at the Berggruen Institute.

Firmly believing that artificial intelligence will not ruin art, she argues that artists must actively participate in and adapt to the development of machine learning in tandem with technological advancements. In particular, she likens voice and media generation technologies using AI to the traditional technique of "sampling" in music, emphasizing that AI is not a threat to artists" livelihoods but rather another creative tool and a means of augmentation. Based on this research and philosophy, she received a standing ovation for her presentation at TED and has delivered keynote speeches at major global conferences, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Nvidia, and Intel.

This artistic philosophy is directly reflected in her work. On her full-length album PROTO, she fronted and conducted an electronic pop choir comprised of both human and AI voices. The unique sounds synthesized on this album were achieved through the combination of Herndon"s own voice, her "AI baby" Spawn, and a vocal ensemble, earning critical acclaim and being selected as Pitchfork’s "Best New Music."

Furthermore, alongside her partner Mathew Dryhurst, Herndon develops technologies and protocols aimed at resolving issues surrounding ownership and digital identity for voices. The technical systems they build not only facilitate the realization of expansive artworks across various media but are also proposed as independent artworks unto themselves. A prime example is "Holly+," a vocal deepfake tool that implements her voice through AI to allow others to create music with it, thereby proposing a new creative model. More recently, she co-founded "Spawning," an organization dedicated to building identity protection and data consent tools for the AI era.

In recognition of their innovative contributions to the fields of music and technology, the duo has headlined major international festivals and held a residency at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris. Additionally, they were awarded the 2022 Ars Electronica STARTS Prize for Digital Art and have consistently been named to ArtReview’s "Power 100" list?a ranking of the most influential figures in the global art world?since 2021. Currently, they actively share their studio research and vision with the public through their co-founded podcast series, Interdependence.