Computer writes its own folk music

 Scientists have created a computer that can write folk music.

The system, developed at London’s Kingston and Queen Mary universities, uses artificial intelligence to compose new tunes after it was “trained” using 23,000 pieces of Irish folk music. The machine has created pieces that were showcased at a concert in London this week.

Dr Oded Ben-tal, a senior lecturer in music technology at Kingston University, said: “The fact of the matter is, technology and creativity have been interconnected for a long time and this is just another step in that direction.”