Watch this video of a computer singing a Christmas carol to feel simultaneously amused and uneasy
Today in odd news: A computer wrote and performed its own Christmas carol, and it is definitely the weirdest thing you’ll hear all day.
Scientists in Toronto created an artificially intelligent computer program (which, for the sake of simplicity, we’re going to call ChristmasBot). ChristmasBot listened to 100 hours of festive holiday carols, and analyzed an image of a Christmas tree that scientists ran through the program.
The result? A completely computer-generated Christmas carol complete with a melody, drums, and rather disconcerting lyrics. The robotic voice sings the song in a jolly tune, but we’re not sure if we should be impressed or unnerved.
"I've always been there for the rest of our lives," ChristmasBot sings. "There is music coming from the hall."
The tech, which scientists call “neural karaoke,” could be commercialized to make fun apps or games, according to The Guardian.
“Instead of buying a karaoke machine with certain tracks on it, you can create your own karaoke at home by throwing in some interesting photos and inviting the machine to generate music for you, said Sanja Fidler with Toronto's computer science lab.
Well, as long as it isn’t used for robotic world domination, we’re on board.