In 1929 the surrealist artist Rene Magritte created The Treachery of Images. (at right). At the bottom of the painting is the famous phase Ceci n'est pas une pipe, or "This is not a pipe." Surrealism in art embraces unconventional, juxtaposed, and irrational imagery to upend traditional norms. Magritte created this work to challenge the viewer's perception of reality.
Fast forward nearly 100 years and we have the image on the left. This too is not real--it was generated in less than three minutes based on a set of descriptors entered into an Artificial Intelligence (AI) website. Loosely defined, AI is the simulation of human intelligence in machines. While AI systems can exhibit creative outputs, they typically operate within predefined algorithms based on existing data. AI systems can learn from data and adapt, but their interpretations and outputs are based on patterns and algorithms rather than personal expression. For example, the definition of AI in this paragraph itself was pulled straight from ChatGPT.
There is ongoing debate (and concern) around AI and how it might pose a threat to society in a variety of ways, from supplanting the creative work of artists (as in the case of the Writer's Guild strike as of this writing) to various military applications, conjuring up images of Skynet taking over the world (or just blowing it up). The history and development of the human race is built upon the development of technology designed improve our chances of survival and make our existence easier. At the same time, it often comes at a cost, whether it is the displacement of labor through automation or contributing to climate change. The Surrealist artist will happily point out the irony of how technological advances designed to make our lives easier could very well be the source of our eventual demise.
The whole subject is a bit weighty for the Causerie, so let's bring this back to the performing arts. Dr. Philip Auslander, author of the book Liveness; Performance in a Mediatized Culture, examines the traditional understanding of "liveness" as the presence of performers and audience in the same physical space and time. He challenges this notion by framing how technology such as television and digital media have expanded the concept of liveness beyond physical presence. Auslander argues that "liveness" should be understood as a cultural construct rather than a purely temporal or spatial one. Years ago he was invited to speak at a conference I attended; perhaps it was only my own perception, but his presentation in person fell short of the thesis of his book.
That is the point. There are many ways that AI will be a boon to the performing arts when seen as another tool in the arsenal of how to use technology in the creative arts. At the same time, the ephemeral experience of audience and artist (or speaker and listener) remains an essential part of the "live" experience, no matter how much technology is piled on. If there is an audience in the house and an artist on the stage, the construct of "liveness" that happens between the two will always be present. Folks that work in this business understand this. Every stage manager knows that the curtain must go up and must go down, but everything that happens in between has the potential to be on the spectrum between perfection and chaos. That is the essence of live performance, and no AI algorithm can replicate it.