A robot comic. Could it work? Could AI reproduce one of the deepest and most shared human experiences?
The omnipresence of Artificial Intelligence is becoming intense, for some disturbingly worrisome. Anything can be replaced and everything is unfairly extinguishable.
We have AI on the Dock and AGI on the pedestal, debating its potential and its alignment with our humane values.
We caught a glimpse of a spark of the potential of human-level intelligence. Ghastly, we caught a glimpse of something eerily familiar. Seeing our screens slowly overflowing with words, sentences, misconceptions and advice, we experience something that resembles consciousness. The LLMs (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Bing AI) have taken over and are gradually becoming the new Google Search. They start acting like us, talking like us. Slowly exhibiting humane traits, clues that reveal some sort of experience of emotion. Some sort of experience that echoes ours. Yet, there is some dishonesty. And some disbelief. Can AI replicate human emotion? Can it become conscious? Can it perform a stand-up?
It’s not just a blob (e.g., Gervais) holding a microphone, whispering words in order. It’s the sharing of the experience of the human condition. It’s not just an artist chattering words. It’s the mesmerizing use of those words and their manifestation into something magical: Thousands of people laughing spontaneously and wholeheartedly to vocalized words that jokingly but intensely, rigorously, and craftily make fun of disabled people. A beautifully crafted joke taking some of the most devastating aspects of the human experience and elegantly intensifying them and stretching them until the audience can glimpse a light in the vast darkness. A light that is materialized in the form of loud laughter. But the magic is not in the words, nor the sole laughter. It’s the presence of disabled people. Them also laughing and cherishing. Them being there, knowing that they hear something that would insult their condition. But also knowing that is not exactly an insult. They espouse it and contribute to it. They appreciate the art behind the joke that allows them to realise and embrace both the harshness and the beauty of being a human. A conscious being. Potentially, a being with a soul.
Probably, the experience is not replaceable. Arguably, it’s difficult. Yet, one can easily imagine a robot on the scene rambling — with some sort of robotic voice — words that joke about its metal or plastic parts or make fun of the human audience and people’s inevitable death. A comedian robot joking about a robot complaining to HR about experiencing racism and discrimination by its human colleagues.
It’s a complicated problem, albeit a fascinating one. As the Gary Marcuses and the Yann LeCuns of the world debate for a moratorium, it’s useful to imagine and think of the future, and maybe necessary. It’s also useful and essential to keep experiences that attempt to capture artfully and meaningfully what it means to be a human at the highest standards. Comedy being one of them.
AI can potentially replace all experiences, even the most artistic ones. But shall we allow this? Or could we maybe embed AI in our societies and human values seamlessly? Integrating it in the same way we integrated background furniture and internet and social media.
It’s not hard to imagine that these experiences might not be replicated or reproduced by a metallic dude carrying a battery and a computer. Yet, it’s almost possible to ponder a world where these experiences coexist. Maybe someday at the Mothership, one stage will feature a comedian as we know it today, and another stage will feature a robot comic. Or maybe a stage will be shared by both. A little eerie, and a bit scary. But maybe fun?
As none has the answer yet, let’s debate with love.
