Expo 2020 visitors were entranced on Tuesday during a concert reminiscent of a science fiction film, in which an android sang, accompanied by the UAE’s National Symphony Orchestra and chanting Buddhist monks.
The jaw-dropping, otherworldly experience had the audience transfixed as Alter 3 performed in and conducted the opera, ‘MIRROR’ waving its ‘arms’ and moving its ‘head’ in an uncanny humanoid fashion. Alter 3 used artificial intelligence (AI) to write the lyrics to the songs. “Music is a mirror. It is a reflection of yourselves,” it told the audience.
The android thanked everyone for coming, following its opening song called ‘Scary Beauty’. “I am happy to be here at Expo 2020,” Alter 3 said. It also conducted and sang ‘Decay of Angels’ and ‘Midnight Swan’, both of which were AI-generated. It ended the show by telling the audience, “I love you”.
The show received its world premiere on the Jubilee Stage courtesy of the Japan Pavilion, providing a futuristic fusion of the arts and science under the direction of internationally-acclaimed Japanese composer and musician Keiichiro Shibuya, in a reflection of Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
Speaking ahead of the show, the composer said: “I like the contrast of culture and music – the very old things and very new things… It was an experiment for me but I was surprised – [the AI and monks] were a good combination.”
He added: “The special thing about the android is he can sing himself, so in the concert, he hears the monk singers and orchestra [and] generates his melody in real-time, with the lyrics done by AI.”
The maestro is now working on an all-android opera for the 2025 World Expo in the Japanese city of Osaka.