34. Rapping robots, musical machines, and creative AI with Richard Savery

Can robots really be creative?

In episode 34 of the B-side, I speak to Richard Savery, a developer of artificial intelligence and robotics, who is trying to find answers to this question and many more through music and creativity.

He is a Research Fellow at Macquarie University, developing new robotic musicians, like Shimon, a freestyle rapping, singing, jazz improvising, and marimba playing robot. He completed a PhD in Music Technology (minor in Human-Computer Interaction), at the Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating in 2021.

Richard’s work has received widespread media attention, including a Guinness World Record for ‘First robot to participate in a rap battle’, articles in Scientific American, BBC Radio, and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.

He has authored hundreds of papers, some of which I refer to on the show; he’s composed and orchestrated many video games, films and ads, including Fast Four featuring Roger Federer and worked for 15 years as a professional saxophonist, clarinettist and flutist.

We discuss his research, and the science behind creativity in robotics and AI. How robotic musicians don’t just work for us, but with us as collaborators, like equal members of a band adding their own unique style of creative spontaneously.

I learn about the difference between mechanomorhip and anthropromorhip robotoc design principles. And ask if the robot music industry will put human creatives out of a job. Thankfully, according to Richard, it's more likely that the future will see robots working alongside us to create better work, not replace us, anytime soon.

This was an incredibly thought-provoking and super exciting chat on the convergence of robotics, AI, and creativity. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can find Richard Savery and learn more about his awesome work here: https://richardsavery.com/about