Art with Watson: Watson uncovers the introvert within Josephine Baker

To capture the cultural zeitgeist surrounding Baker, Watson analyzed her speeches, writings, autobiography, songs and performances, books about her, and even news articles spanning her life in America and France. Through this analysis, Watson discovered contradictions to her flamboyant persona. She ranked 9.6% in extroversion and 7.2% in hedonism and excitement-seeking traits, while ranking a much higher 97.5% in cautiousness. This indicates that this seemingly uninhibited chanteuse was in fact an introvert.

In exploring the idea of glamour as a form of disguise, nøcomputer created Glamoflage referencing the key element of Baker’s iconic banana skirt–the banana: strong on the outside, fragile on the inside. With Watson, the artists peeled away the exterior of “the world’s most sensational woman” and uncovered something the public never knew with a dynamic still life using reactive technology.


About Art with Watson: IBM Watson is a cognitive system that understands, reasons and learns. In the few years Watson has been at work in the world, he’s had one purpose: to augment human ability. To help us make better decisions, do what we do better. Hidden Portraits is a collaboration between Watson and a selection of notable contemporary artists. Those artists used insights uncovered by Watson to create unique and revealing, never-before-possible portraits of influential thinkers. See the art at https://ibm.co/2r1BRLr