Chronicle by Andra Bireescu
Have you ever wondered if the reviews you are reading are written by real people or by artificial intelligence? Are these lines written by a person or a machine? You cannot test the truth in these circumstances. The truth may not even change the normal course of your life. The company Rimini Protokoll and Thomas Melle, the creators of the show Uncanny Valley, are arousing interest in this topic.
In the mid-20th century, Alan Turing laid the foundations for artificial intelligence, developing the hypothesis that the human brain is a digital computing machine that, through training, becomes a device that can be programmed to learn how to think. This is not only possible in the case of living beings, but also in the case of robots. Objects can receive the human quality of thinking. Such a statement causes an identity crisis: What, then, is so special about being human? The show Uncanny Valley introduces us to this dystopian space, which faces us, humans, with the fear of being replaced. For a few good minutes, we have the impression that there is an android in front of us so advanced that we expect it to get up any second from the chair and shout: “We have taken your place!”. But anxiety and the feeling of oppression evaporate, and the public quickly understands that on the stage there is only a harmless object, created by people. It is up to the viewers to continue their self-questioning. Beyond a possible existential drama, what is born in us during and after the end of the show? Questions, many questions. One of them is addressed by Thomas himself: “What kind of creatures are we?” The answer is not elaborate, the riddle is simple: “We are creators.”
---
“Ph[r]ases”- Creative Formulas is a programme conceived by Diana Katharina and Daniela Șilindean together with the team of the German State Theatre Timișoara, dedicated to the theatre chronicle within the Eurothalia 2023 European Theatre Festival, held between 20-30 September 2023, financed by the National Cultural Program Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023.
