Whose generated line is it anyway? AI tries to crack humour’s DNA

A Netflix standup show was ‘written by bots’. A TV writer has scripted joke software. And now artificial intelligence is taking on improv

I’ve seen some bad comedy acts over the years – but not, until now, one that is part of an existential threat to humanity. One of artificial intelligence’s pre-eminent boffins, Geoffrey Hinton, sent out shock waves recently by arguing that, in relation to AI: “We’re toast. This is the actual end of history.”

That’s a hell of a backdrop to my visit to see Artificial Intelligence Improvisation, a show by the Improbotics troupe playing as part of an AI festival in London this week. You’ll forgive me, I hope, for some hesitation in wielding the critical brickbat, given that the act under review boasts the capacity to wipe out all of us.

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