Google Wants to Give AI the Weird-Ass Brain of an Artist

Google's artificial intelligence has already taken on the form of a human nerd, but now it's time for its next act. Can AI be an artist? Douglas Eck, a researcher working on Google Brain, recently revealed that the team will soon launch a new project called Magenta. Though it took some inspiration from DeepDream, another Google Brain scheme that yielded trippy-as-hell images (amongst other things), Magenta has one key difference: It will try to figure out if computers can actually create art, instead of reproducing or distorting it. Magenta is set to launch in a more official capacity in early June, but Eck provided some early insights during a recent discussion at Moogfest, a music, art and technology festival.