technology
Comedians are increasingly experimenting with technology to write scripts and develop ideas
(Web Desk) – “Why did the politician bring a ladder to the debate? To ensure that he can reach new heights with his promises!”
Ask an AI to write a political joke. The example above shows what comes out.
Maybe not funny enough to be convincing on stage in front of a paying audience, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for AI in comedy.
More and more comedians are experimenting with the technology to write scripts and develop ideas, including Anesti Danelis. Earlier this year, the Canadian asked the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT to write him a show.
He performed the result throughout the summer, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this month.
The BBC caught up with Anesti after his sixth performance in seven days at the Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival in July. He explained the writing process behind his show, Artificially Intelligent.
“I was playing around with ChatGPT and the results it was giving me were awfully weird and I thought, ‘Maybe there’s a show in there?'”
Despite some silly jokes, he says the tool was useful for brainstorming.
“I asked it to write me ‘five songs about bisexual dilemmas’ or ‘life as an immigrant child’ and it gave me ideas I would never have thought of.”
What he didn’t expect from the AI was its understanding of the conception of a show.
“I told him to give me an order and he explained where each song belonged and why, and it made perfect sense. I was surprised at how well he could explain the reasons behind it.”
Although he uses technology to write parts of the script, Anesti’s show relies heavily on his performance. During the show, the comedian switches from keyboard to guitar to perform songs and monologues.
There is a lot of interaction, including serenading a member of the audience with a song written about them by ChatGPT.
A recent study from the University of Southern California found that AI-generated jokes were more popular than those created by humans. However, Bethany isn’t so sure, saying that “humans are pretty good at spotting AI.”
When she looks at something, she adds, “I feel like I know when there was no human involved in the writing. But I’m sure that will change as it gets more intelligent.”
Making audiences laugh is big business, and over the past decade the stand-up comedy market in the United States has nearly tripled in terms of total value of tickets sold.
This is according to data from trade magazine Pollstar, which tracks the live performance sector. According to the report, ticket sales for US comedy events will reach $900 million (£700 million) in 2023, compared to $371 million in 2012.
A separate study last month found that live comedy is now worth more than £1 billion a year to the UK economy. This figure includes not just ticket sales, but also income from comedy venues and festivals, as well as the positive impact on the wider local economy.
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