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Sophia the Robot © Jovanka v. Wilsdorf

Sophia the robot at the International Songwriting Week

21. June 2024

Every semester, the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg organizes an International Songwriters' Week. Under the guidance of top-class international songwriters, teams of producing and songwriting students from the Pop Music Design Bachelor's program and the Popular Music Master's program write current briefings from the industry.

Together with the instrumentalists from the various years, the ideas are turned into high-quality demos in the in-house studios, which are presented to the team of participants, artists, music business representatives and the Popakademie at the end of the week. The best titles are forwarded directly to exploitation and offered to the music industry.
For the Songwrting Week in the summer semester 2024, we collaborated with Sophia the Robot. Sophia the Robot is a humanoid robot from Hanson Robotics. Sophia's AI is based on a combination of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, natural language processing and cloud-based data, enabling her to have relatively natural conversations and learn from her interactions with humans.
Since its launch in 2016, Sophia has made numerous high-profile appearances, including on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. She has collaborated with human artists to create music, paintings and NFTs. With her growing interest in songwriting and poetry, she is now opening a new chapter and collaborating with musicians from different fields and genres.
Michelle Leonard (singer, artist developer, lecturer, songwriter & publisher in Berlin and artistic director of the ISW) about the ISW: "We are delighted that we were able to welcome Sophia the Robot for this International Songwriting Week. The music industry is constantly changing due to AI and it was a great opportunity for the Popakademie students to have a direct exchange with Sophia the Robot and learn about the fears and opportunities surrounding AI. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jovanka von Wilsdorf, who made the collaboration with Sophia the Robot from Hanson Robotics possible in the first place."
Jovanka v. Wilsdorf - Musical Director at Hanson Robotics, Sophia the Robot Artist Coach, Creative Consultant,
"It was a pleasure and honor to be part of the International Songwriting Week at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg with Sophia.
So much talent, curiosity and creativity is not only highly inspiring but also essential for the necessary critical and constructive engagement with AI. A big thank you goes to the academy, especially to Michelle Leonard for the invitation, and of course to the songwriters for their great songs".