Art with Watson: IBM Watson helps create a data-driven portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt

When IBM Watson analyzed Roosevelt’s personal writings, speeches, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, autobiography, My Day daily newspaper column written over 27 years, as well as biographies and press articles, the analysis suggested an unexpected association–the concepts in Roosevelt’s writing have a strong association with contemporary music of 2007¬–2008, with 95% relevancy. The common themes of music at that time were love and empowerment.

Inspired by Roosevelt’s love for humanity and Watson’s insight, the artists Trevor Gurekis, Lucas Camargo and Bastien Baumann created her portrait, First Lady of the World, with original music, including vocals of phrases from Roosevelt’s speeches and My Day column, as well as an audio sample from her 1941 Library of Congress speech. Accompanying the track is a video projection of her 3-D likeness, with animated phrases from her writing, and music of 2007–2008.

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