IBM's Watson explores its inner artist by writing a commercial for Lexus

When it's not buying companies built on open-source software or shrinking computers to the size of salt, IBM is busy pushing the world closer to a machine-dominated apocalypse with Watson, one of the most advanced artificial intelligence programs in the world. Watson became famous when it thoroughly trounced Jeopardy! champions several years ago but has since been pursuing other ventures to keep itself occupied. Apparently, Watson has a certain flair for marketing.

Lexus released a minute-long commercial earlier today that was scripted by Watson and directed by Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, One Day in September). IBM gave Watson access to Canne Lions-winning commercials from the last 15 years, which the AI then analyzed to create the most relatable and accessible commercial it could.

After writing an outline and a simple script, Watson handed off its creative vision to IBM researcherst and the director to clean up some of the rough edges. Macdonald and his team then turned Watson’s dream into reality, filming a 60-second spot titled Drive by Intuition.

Personally speaking, the commercial feels hoaky, but the fact that AI is getting to the point where it can effectively flex some creative muscle (with a small bit of guidance) is impressive. It seems that robots aren’t satisfied with taking over warehouse jobs; they're coming for writers next.

If Notebookcheck ever turns to robots for writing our news and reviews, we’ll be sure to put a disclaimer.

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