A human improvising theatre with an artificial intelligence? Two actors performing in two theatres... on different continents? Robots connecting over the Atlantic to create art? Yes, and
HumanMachines (https://humamachine.live/) binary2 is an improv comedy show unlike anything you have ever seen before. It will be the worlds first transatlantic AI improv: simultaneous improvised performance in London, England (at the Tristan Bates Theatre) and Portland, Oregon (at the Curious Comedy Theatre), transmitted live across the Internet, crossing seven time zones. In each city, a duo of a human improviser and an artificial intelligence interact: lovable nerd Albert and his Artificial Language Experiment A.L.Ex, and outgoing hacker Myles with his Pygmalion (Pyggy for short). Scenes involving humans and AIs build worlds of distant futures, culminating in a scene with both AIs - as the humans become the audience...
The UK side of the show will take place at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Soho on 31 March at 9:30pm and 1 April at 6pm, as part of Impro Fest UK 2017 (http://www.improfestuk.co.uk/). Part of the proceeds will go to Girls Who Code and the Mousetrap Theatre Projects, to promote the love of hacking and of theatre among the young generation.
HumanMachine was born from the revolutionary idea that humans should be able to improvise with anyone, or anything, which includes a machine running artificial intelligence. Over a year of research and development in the laboratory, and a dozen of experimental concept shows in London, Barcelona and Edmonton have led to binary2. The state-of-the-art artificial intelligences behind the robots have been coded by the human creators of the show, Piotr Mirowski (Phoenix Remix's Comedian to Watch in 2017) and Kory Mathewson (Avenue Edmonton's 2016 Top 40 under 40), both researchers in AI. They have learned to communicate and to act by reading one hundred thousand movie scripts, using a technique called neural networks. The robots can listen using speech recognition, converse using an AI dialogue system, speak using voice synthesis and finally move as they act. Just like human improvisers!
What is creativity? Could a robot have a sense of humour? Could it make you cry or jump from joy? Blurring the boundaries between humans and machines, binary2 will stimulate you emotionally and intellectually.
