Published By: The Guardian, 11/29/2016

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Summary

Researchers at the University of Toronto are working on a program that analyzes an image and then produces music based on the contents of that image. In an early demonstration of the capabilities of the AI, it produced a holiday-themed song based on a picture of a Christmas tree. This demonstrates that computers have the potential to create music could be in many ways similar to what humans would produce when given the same theme.

Extended Discussion Questions

• This program is able to build relationships between images and words and then use those words to generate melodies, based on patterns it recognizes. Is this similar to how humans produce music? Why or why not?
• Could programs that create music pose a threat to human artists in the future? Do you think music created by a computer qualifies as art? Why or why not?
• The article talks about how future iterations of the program could be adapted for other entertainment purposes. What are some other creative fields that could benefit from similar programs? How?

Relating This Story to the CSP Curriculum Framework

Global Impact Learning Objectives:

• LO 7.2.1 Explain how computing has impacted innovations in other fields.

Global Impact Essential Knowledge:

• EK 7.2.1G Advances in computing as an enabling technology have generated and increased the creativity in other fields.

Other CSP Big Ideas:

• Idea 1 Creativity
• Idea 4 Algorithms

Banner Image: “Network Visualization – Violet – Offset Crop”, derivative work by ICSI. New license: CC BY-SA 4.0. Based on “Social Network Analysis Visualization” by Martin Grandjean. Original license: CC BY-SA 3.0