In 1923, Elmer Rice's play "The Adding Machine" featured an office clerk experiencing an existential crisis after his accounting job was replaced by a machine. Now, with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, we are prompted to wonder: will future theatrical performances be taken over by machines? Seattle's theater group "The Feast" is set to incorporate generative AI into their play "The Adding Machine: A Cyber-Moral Drama," marking the first attempt to integrate AI into theatrical creation.
Image source: Picture generated by AI, authorized by service provider Midjourney
The play will premiere at the Lee Center for the Arts at Seattle University on September 14, with previews starting on September 12. During the performance, generative AI will be involved in scene and costume design, and chatbot tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude will be used to create interactive roles with five human actors. The actors will interact with the AI tools through live questioning, with the AI providing real-time text or voice responses. Although the script structure and 80% of the text will remain unchanged, the actors will also need to improvise during the performance, interacting with the AI.
The founding artistic director of the theater group, Ryan Gutierrez Pusell, is cautiously optimistic about AI. He expressed concerns that the rapid development of AI technology could affect workers' rights and its significant energy consumption is also worrying. Additionally, the lack of regulation over AI technology is equally unsettling. However, Pusell believes that the field of artistic creation cannot ignore such a significant and complex technological change.
Although the integration of AI and art is novel in the theater world, Pusell stated that the theater group will still adhere to the concept of prioritizing artists. They offer actors a weekly salary of $825, far exceeding the levels of other similar nonprofit theater groups in the region. He pointed out: "Our decisions regarding budgeting and artist hiring have not changed due to the use of AI."
Although the application of AI in theatrical creation is still in its exploratory stages, some plays have already begun to experiment with this new form. Pusell emphasized that while this performance uses AI to explore the relationship between labor and human identity, he does not intend to incorporate AI technology into more future works. He hopes that the audience can reflect on how to face their identity and value in the era of rapid technological development through this performance.
Key Points:
🌟 AI technology will be introduced for the first time in a Seattle theater group's performance, interacting in real-time with human actors.
🎭 The theater group will maintain the principle of prioritizing artists, ensuring actors receive fair compensation.
🤖 The performance aims to explore the relationship between technology and labor, encouraging the audience to reflect on human identity and value.