Performing/Watching Artificial Intelligence On Stage

Abstract

In the last two decades, we have observed the experimenting with Artificial Intelligence algorithms as a tool for performances. From the early tests, mostly carried out in the Universities’ Labs, to the first public performances, the practice has produced several evidence, enough to consider the implications, both from the point of view of the design and of the reception. Computer scientists have used performance and drama to test the potential of AI. Artists have used AI as a new criticism to both presence and disembodiment. As robots became relevant in our society, they walked their first steps on stage; Artificial Agents have been dialoguing with actors; some algorithms have managed the interaction among participants in the interactive performances. Therefore, we can foresee a new multifaceted practice in theatre, and this may further develop the notion of live event. Yet, the analysis of this practice isn’t relevant only for the creators but may open new consideration from the point of view of the audience experience. The notion of the “here and now” that instantiated the aesthetic of performance as relation between performer and spectator, might be reconsidered in the light of the artificial agency of the algorithm. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; algorithm; artificial agents; intermediality; drama; audience