Google’s new musical experiment with artificial intelligence means you’ll never have to play alone again.

Google has long tried to create artificial intelligence capable of producing art, and it has now succeeded in teaching it to play the piano. A new experiment from the technology giant allows keyboard whizzes and the musically challenged alike to play duets with a piano-playing AI. The project, dubbed AI Duet, uses neural network technology to respond to notes played on a computer keyboard.

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“You don’t even have to know how to play piano – it’s fun to just press some keys and listen to what comes back,”, Google employee Alexander Chen wrote in a blog post introducing the AI. “We hope it inspires you – whether you’re a developer or musician, or just curious – to imagine how technology can help creative ideas come to life”.

What makes the project worth noting – and distinguishes it from traditional piano-playing computer programs ­– is how it actually harnesses neural networks to make music. The AI wasn’t programmed by its creators to display specific responses. Rather,...