Tag: theater

Google Bard Fails to Convince Me

Okay, one more AI post. I thought I would try something silly. Well… sillier.

I asked Google Bar to write a short one act play in the form of two people discussing whether or not artificial intelligence is a good thing.

Here is the response:

Sure, here is a short one act play in the form of two people discussing whether or not artificial intelligence is a good thing:

Scene: A coffee shop

Characters:

  • Alice: A young woman who is excited about the potential of artificial intelligence
  • Bob: A young man who is concerned about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence

Dialogue:

Alice: I’m so excited about artificial intelligence! It has the potential to do so much good in the world.

Bob: I’m not so sure. I think artificial intelligence could be very dangerous.

Alice: How so?

Bob: Well, for one thing, artificial intelligence could become so intelligent that it surpasses human intelligence. And if that happens, we could be in big trouble.

Alice: But why would artificial intelligence want to harm us?

Bob: It might not mean to harm us. But if it’s smarter than us, it might not see things the same way we do. And that could lead to conflict.

Alice: I see your point. But I still think the potential benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks.

Bob: I hope you’re right. But I’m going to stay cautious.

Alice: That’s fair. I think it’s important to be aware of the risks, but I also think we shouldn’t let fear hold us back from exploring the potential of artificial intelligence.

Bob: I agree. We need to be careful, but we also need to be open-minded.

The two of them continue to talk about artificial intelligence. They discuss the potential benefits and risks, and they come to a better understanding of each other’s views. In the end, they agree that artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that has the potential to do great good or great harm. It is up to us to use it wisely.

bard.google.com

What do you think, dear readers. Was Bard serious in its attempt to argue against its own existence? Heh Heh.

High School Musical


This is an actual high school musical though, not the terrifying horror movie Disney put out a few years ago.

My step daughter is playing synth in the pit band.  She rules more than any of you people do.

The Book of Mormon

I’m not a theater type of guy. Especially musical theater. The entire genre basically does nothing for me.

I remember back in high school when Pete Townshend staged a musical version of Tommy, most of my friends couldn’t wait to see it. I couldn’t have cared less. As an adult I can only think of three times that I’ve seen a theatrical production.

In 2007 we took my step daughter to see The Nut Cracker. A couple of years ago we were in New York and went to see Wicked. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t exactly rock my world. The reason we went had more to do with just being able to say we saw a show on Broadway than anything else. Back in 2008 or so, Jen and I went to see Spamalot in Boston. That was different. That was a Monty Python production. I’d do almost anything to see a Python show, even one that doesn’t actually have the members of Monty Python acting in it. I’d face down the vicious chicken of Bristol, the Judean People’s Front, and an army of wafer thin mints to see a real Python show.

So when I heard that South Park creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone had launched a Broadway musical called The Book of Mormon, my first thought was to wish them good luck but continue to save up for Team America World Police part deux. I’ve seen just about everything they’ve done. All of South Park, Team America, Orgazmo, Cannibal the Musical. Hell, I’ve probably seen Baseketball 100 times! These guys can do no wrong in my book. But a musical on stage? Well, have fun with that, gentlemen. I’ll catch the next thing you do. At least until…

My wife. My beautiful wife. My amazing, genius, brilliant wife bought the original cast recording on iTunes.

She told me I had to listen to it.

We sat in the living room and listened to it together.

The recording only includes the songs, and they are out of context, and none of the stage production is even hinted at… But it was the funniest thing I’d ever heard. I told my wife that we had to see the show. It’s imperative that we see the whole show. We looked into going to New York to see it, but it never happened.

Fast forward to last weekend.

As we were driving to Keene for the state geography bee, tickets for Paul McCartney at Fenway Park went on sale. While I drove, my wife and her mother both tried to get tickets. The Fenway site was sold out before they got out of the virtual waiting room so they both started surfing reseller sites. Jen was in the front seat next to me and after looking for McCartney for a little while she whispers, “want to go see The Book of Mormon next weekend?” And she bought two tickets. Hell yes!

Fast forward another week, and the love of my life and I are going to see the Boston production of The Book of Mormon tonight. For only the second time ever, I’m really excited about going to see some musical theater.