In the early 1960s, a groundbreaking experiment was conducted by scientists from Bell Labs using the powerful IBM 7094 computer. Researchers Carol Locbaum and John Kelly created the first electronic synthesis of the human voice, known as the Kelly-Lochbaum Vocal Tract. The cost of the IBM 7094 at that time was approximately $3.5 million.
Prior to this experiment, attempts to recreate a human voice relied on mechanical or electromechanical systems. Russian scientist Christian Gotlib Brudenstein designed a system in 1779 using wooden resonators to imitate human vowels. Each resonator was tuned to a specific frequency to accurately reproduce Russian language vowels.
The scientists chose the Victorian song “Daisy Bell” for their experiment, possibly inspired by the name of the laboratory, Bell Labs. Max Mathew, an electrical engineer and amateur violinist, joined the project to create musical accompaniment. Due to technological limitations, Mathew had to program each note separately using the IBM 7094.
The significance of this experiment was later recognized when the audio record was included in the National Sound Recording Register of the US Congress Library in 2009. This early example of digital music recording paved the way for modern methods of music creation and distribution.
Guests at Bell Labs, including British writer Arthur C. Clarke, were impressed by the demonstration. Clarke’s experience at Bell Labs inspired a scene in his script for the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” in which the on-board computer HAL 9000 sings “Daisy Bell.” Director Stanley Kubrick meticulously crafted the scene to convey the gradual extinction of artificial intelligence.