Beatboxer and artist Reeps One teamed up with Nokia Bell Labs to put on an incredible performance, going toe-to-toe with a machine at Inspirefest 2018.
When not touring at festivals and events across the world, Reeps One is gathering a massive online following, garnering more than 100m views on various video platforms.
Furthermore, Reeps One is pushing boundaries when it comes to academic research, with a residency at none other than Harvard University.
At Inspirefest 2018, he presented a world premiere: the first ever beatboxing battle between him and an artificial intelligence (AI).
To do this, Reeps One partnered with programmer and artist CJ Carr to develop a deep learning program that took a lecture Reeps One gave in Sweden and transformed it into an entirely new string of sounds.
“Now, machines can be programmed to learn how to mimic the human voice and begin to not just learn, but to create,” Reeps One said regarding his work with the Nokia Bell Labs Experiment in Art and Technology division on this project called ‘Second Self’.
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Words by Colm Gorey
