IU professors develop AI music program, creating groundbreaking opera [Video]

INDIANAPOLIS— Two IU professors have developed an AI music program and now it’s being used to create a groundbreaking opera.

The music improvisation program is called AVATAR and WRTV visited IU Indianapolis’s campus to find out how it works.

“At most, I’m just making sure it doesn’t go nuts,” said Jason Palamara a professor of music technology at the Herron School of Art and Design.

Palamara helped develop the technology.

“The idea behind it was the software would do the driving,” said Palamara.

Palamara has been working alongside Professor Scott Deal. Deal had an idea that you could take AI and use it as a musical partner. The two started working on it almost seven years ago.

While Deal plays the vibraphone, AVATAR listens to it and then plays its own music in the style of Deal.

“There’s no Beyonce’ in AVATAR, there’s just Scott,” said Palamara. “That’s the real idea. If we were to …