Is AI Ready For Improv Comedy?

The University of Alberta has a lot going for it. It’s pretty. And it’s home to many an eccentric and clever inventor, like Kory Mathewson. Kory is an A.I researcher who comes with a side-kick, a robot that does improv comedy. In this Hello World video, Bloomberg Businessweek's Ashlee Vance goes in search of the humorous side of artificial intelligence.

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Hello World is a Webby and Emmy-nominated video series from Bloomberg that invites the viewer to come on a journey across the globe to find the inventors, scientists and technologists shaping our future. Join journalist and best-selling author Ashlee Vance on a quest to find the freshest, weirdest tech creations and the beautiful freaks behind them.

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[Woloshin]

I had the chance to work a bit with Kory many years ago doing improv, and I've gotta say this thing looks very cool! He's a great guy, and this tech will only keep developing from here, but such an interesting way to combine two of his interests in doing improv and computer science! Way to be man!

[Li]

*I am funny bot*
What is the difference between a snowman and a snowwoman?
Snowballs.
Awkarddd

[robertgization]

The interviewer, based on this and other videos, is very terrified of technology

[lilocean]

This is so cool, sure it might sound a bit goofy right now, but imagine what this tech could do in 20 years or so...

[lostlakepictures]

If I were this robots improv teacher...I'd make him go back the beginner's class. Still very cute.

[cambridgestrategies]

Kory was my Level 2 Improv teacher. Not surprised he would create a robot with emerging AI to advance the "art."

[brent]

That part about making it cute and nieve totally made me feel like those clips of how it begain. Like 30 years in the future it trasitions to the steps leading up to the AI epidemic 😅

[blakeada]

Blueberry already HAS turned Kory into a human puppet. Kory's as effective at programming consciousness as Blueberry is at realizing it.

[ltlpho]

the robot is an NAO built by aldebaron robotics, for the purposes of creating AI with empathy. why does the title say it was designed to make people laugh, and no mention of the company that makes it?

[mdp]

A detail: was it fed the quotes for the all of the movies collection, or the entire scripts? I know of a database of quotes, but I do not know of a database of full scripts

[caseybledsoe]

That sounded like nonsensical gibberish to me. The guy was just having to mold the scene around what came out of the robot.

[JIROHirokawa]

Why are there pre fabricated response in the code? That's crap.

[saifrs]

"i don't think that will happen at my time" that is selfish if you ask me

[claytonvankuyl]

oh god, when they said improv I knew it was going to be terrible

[overTheGFW]

Kory looks like Nick Cage... I wonder if this is a faceswap

[MrDan]

Reminds me of the Southpark episode funny bot

[god-son-love]

Can't wait for my future girlfriend.

[riyazpatan]

I appreciate this guy's knowledge but one particular thing I want to say is.. don't create emotional intelligence to machines.. its OK to have robots around us without emotional intelligence ..but emotional intelligence in a machine will lead to a path of human destruction....!