3 reasons LA area theatregoers need to see a play about artificial intelligence

April 13th, 2017

Artificial Intelligence, or A.I., is interesting for many reasons.

1. For one, it is already a large part of our life in the 21st century. A.I. powers self-driving cars, helps you “tag” images on Facebook, powers “Siri” on your iPhone and “Alexa” on the Amazon Echo, helps suggest interesting movies for you to watch on Netflix, and helps you find new music you’ll love on Pandora.
2. Scientists and engineers are making rapid advancements in the field of A.I., often too quick for the legal system to catch up. As a community, we should be discussing the implications of a technology that is so advanced it mimics human consciousness. Does a machine with self-awareness deserve basic human rights? (Or how about a ping-pong playing robot, like above?) If so, which ones?
3. Theatregoing is a deeply social experience, and one of our favorite parts of producing a new play is the discussions that the play inspires after the show. Uncanny Valley will certainly inspire interesting discussions about parenthood, innovation and technology, what makes us human, and the future of life as we know it!