AI Doomers and AI Boomers
- Patricia McAlernon -
Matthew Gasda is a playwright at the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research. In 2024 his human drama called ‘Doomers’ is a reflection on our turbulent world of unleashed AI technology, ethics and large company egos.
I remember some of my first experiences of theatre in the Grand Opera House in Belfast. ‘Macbeth’ and’ Philadelphia, Here I Come!’ were plays which I attended with my school in the 1980’s to supplement my knowledge in order to gain a pass in my O-’level English literature exam. r I graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1997 with my PhD thesis researching sensors and artificial intelligence (AI). Nowadays, as a writer of the column ‘AI in Action’ in the Ango Celt, I have managed to find my purpose in life which is to educate people on a subject which some believe originates from aliens and is capable of destroying society and life as we know it.
Of all the theatre plays I attended, ‘3 Hail Mary’s’ is the only one which mentioned AI if only just briefly in passing. The play was set in an Irish nursing home and featured three women and one gentleman suffering from dementia. It was humorous at times, however, at the end I was in tears remembering my own Mother’s struggle with the same disease.
My interpretation of the theatre production of ‘Nettle Horse’, despite no verbal reference to AI, included a vision of how the world would look if advances in technology lead to ‘end times.’ The show projected a doomed future with references to homeless people, living in cars and eating edible beetles for their only protein source. The term ‘AI Doomers’ has just lately been used to describe those in society who fear AI technology.
Gasda’s play ‘Doomers’ is a perfect realisation of what modern times is facing in terms of threats from AI. Companies are steaming ahead developing AI-based technology without regard for the safety of society and humankind. Ethicists, like myself, are engaging with authorities such as the National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI) who are working to regulate and standardise the use of AI through the EU AI Act.
Last week my spirits were lifted from the doom of AI through the play in the Townhall Arts Centre, Cavan, ‘‘Where Angels Tread’, directed by Carolann Farrelly and written by members of Creative Voice. It is an excellent example of original art and the setting in a friendly and intimate space in Cavan town reiterated its appeal to traditional theatre lovers. It prompted me to research AI technology’s role as an artistic collaborator and its use in helping the process of playwriting. The rising interest in creating art with a machine is causing great concern in the Art world. Interactions with machine learning such as AI can expand our understanding of our own capabilities. Similar to the way photography transformed the way painters portrayed the world in the past,
AI, if used ethically, can build on our existing creativity to produce ideas which we could never achieve on our own.
Dramaturg is a literary and artistic advisor in theatre, opera and film. AI Dramaturg is a new approach to creating art with a machine. It can be used to analyse the loading of scenery and improve safety applications. As an artistic collaborator it can be used as a sound board to interrogate themes, explore ideas and plot generations, develop characters, enhance dialogue, analyse pacing, adjust voices and offer alternative phrasing. Pre-visualisation using AI can reduce the workload of set-building and costume making. AI in conjunction with Virtual Reality (VR) can further enhance set visualisation. AI in Art has an unpredictable future, however, its potential is very promising if used ethically.
It is an exciting time for people working in the art world and in the near future theatre may in fact convert some AI Doomers to AI Boomers ultimately leading to a more tech-savy audience.