IBM’s Watson Beat makes music with Alex da Kid

Remember when IBM Watson began moonlighting as a chef? Not satisfied with this or its day job in business and healthcare, the versatile AI has technically dropped its first album.

Collaborating with Grammy-winning producer Alex da Kid, Watson Beat (that is its DJ name, I guess) has helped da Kid create the four songs on his new EP by providing the producer with some original Watson compositions for inspiration.

Watson Beat is in fact a cognitive technology research project from IBM where researchers are teaching a complex neural network to understand music theory and structure, ie pitch, time signature, as well as emotional intent, in order to create compositions that human musical partners collaborate upon.

Perhaps this is how the pop machine will be reborn; producers will use data analytics to find out what tunes tug on our heartstrings. Judging by Da Kid's first single, Not Easy, the cognitive music revolution, led by Watson, is already under way. Unleash the earworms!

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvR2RHIYW5U ]