At World Quantum Day 2025 at the University of Maryland, AADHum faculty member Andrew W. Smith presented his project LiteraryDJ, an interactive arts installation and digital remixing engine that immerses participants in African American literary and musical heritage. Harnessing natural language processing (NLP) and quantum computing to produce novel tools for composing computational literature, LiteraryDJ opens new gateways for artists, scholars, and students to engage with the traditions of African American creative writing, hip hop lyrics, and electronic literature.

At once a scholarly tool and a creative platform, LiteraryDJ enables researchers to investigate themes and patterns within African American literature while also inviting artists and audiences to experiment with remixing, design, and poetic expression. Smith’s presentation highlighted how the project expands access to advanced programming methods in the digital humanities and computational arts, while uncovering the intricate tapestry of Black expressive thought across time and space.