Given the dearth of conductors with the celebrity grade gravitas to attract audiences, the Detroit Symphony is trying out a replacement in the form of a robot made by Honda. Asimo, as the robot is known is said to be a strict task master and citing a perceived lack of discipline among the musicians, has ordered them fitted with electrodes in order to monitor when their focus is about to waver. When the brain waves associated with an imminent change in focus are detected, a mild shock will be automatically administered to the musician. Asimo will also have manual control of the system and has stated he hasn’t ruled out its use as a general disciplinary tool.
Ah, it is a pity these stories didn’t come out around April 1st!
While the robot is conducting and the technology to detect a loss of focus before it occurs does exist, they are independent of one another. Initially I was going to suggest the brainwave monitoring for orchestra/ballet/opera audiences to ensure their attention throughout. When I came across the robot story though, the idea of it torturing the musicians was much more fun. Frankly, given some of Jason Heath’s gig stories, a sadistic robot conductor may not necessarily be far fetched.
That blows MY idea out of the water. I was going to provide our symphony’s outbound call-center with an updated IRS timetable and have everyone set up callbacks based on the dates that rebates get direct-deposited into our patrons’ accounts. 🙂 Perhaps a series of mild shocks applied during the phone conversation would set up a subliminal reward/punishment scenario that would work to our advantage as well. All in the name of economic recovery and increased subscription sales!
Out Damn Robot!
First it was cars and real estate, now the Japanese are making a move on our arts industry! Back in April, I wrote about the Honda robot Now Mitsubishi is attempting to build a better actor. Actually, Mitsubishi built the…