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  • (slow electronic music)

  • The university of Alberta has

  • a lot going for it.

  • It's pretty.

  • Its bear collection is on point.

  • (slow electronic music)

  • And it's home to many an eccentric and clever inventor.

  • Are you human?

  • Of course not, but that shouldn't keep us from chatting.

  • Like this fella, Kory Mathewson,

  • an AI researcher who comes with a sidekick.

  • (slow electronic music)

  • Tell me about this guy a little bit, or is this it?

  • Sure.

  • (both laugh)

  • So this is Blueberry.

  • On Blueberry, I've deployed the improv system.

  • So there's an artificial improv system running

  • on Blueberry right now.

  • Yes, that's right.

  • Kory does improv comedy with a robot.

  • I've been doing improv longer than

  • I've been doing computing science.

  • I've been doing it for 12 years

  • and I thought, you know, there's no more

  • natural convergence than taking some

  • of these state of the art systems

  • and putting them up on stage.

  • One day, we'll make it to the moon

  • if this planet is not to be our last.

  • I keep thinking there's, like, a ventriloquist

  • or this is like a new age.

  • That's a really good way to put it, yeah.

  • With a strange twist on it.

  • The piece that's different is that

  • I don't know what it will say.

  • Anything that comes from the system,

  • it's generating live in the moment.

  • Blueberry I created you.

  • I downloaded a voice into your brain

  • so that you could perform in front of these people.

  • So they do not know what I am going to say?

  • I don't know what you're going to say either!

  • To give Blueberry the power

  • of surreal Canadian improv,

  • Kory first had to create an AI

  • that could bring the funny.

  • Step one: he feeds Blueberry the dialogue

  • from a bunch of movies, 102,000 movies to be exact.

  • All the movies, every movie for 100 years.

  • And that's just so it can learn language,

  • see how somebody responds to somebody else.

  • That's exactly right, it builds kind of a language model.

  • Step two: he trains Blueberry

  • just like you'd train a dog.

  • Rewarding it when it makes sense,

  • and punishing it when it spits out gibberish.

  • Time to put this wannabe Kid in the Hall to the test.

  • Here we go.

  • Start improvising.

  • Okay campers, we're going to get ready

  • for a real baseball game!

  • Grab your gloves and grab your baseball bats,

  • and let's get out there!

  • Especially you, Franklin!

  • Okay, okay. Well, why aren't you ready for the match?

  • Okay, come on Franklin, you know how I feel about you,

  • but you've gotta keep your head in the game right now.

  • He's threatening you!

  • I know!

  • Oh Jesus, put down the bat, Franklin! What are you doing?

  • I've got nothing to hide. Look!

  • This is all I am!

  • Okay, we'll end it there.

  • That's great!

  • That's how it works.

  • Obviously, some of the responses are a little bit weird,

  • but then it's really funny,

  • because then as you're going along,

  • it did hit a couple of things perfectly,

  • and then it's like, it's extra hilarious,

  • because now it's going.

  • Blueberry may not be ready

  • for its Second City audition just yet.

  • But Kory has a higher purpose: making AI relatable.

  • Oh it's gonna move, it's gonna move.

  • (laughter)

  • There is a fear in society of AI.

  • So, we are kind of humanizing this AI.

  • We're taking it down a peg,

  • we're saying don't be afraid of this tech,

  • look at how cute it is, look at how kind of naive it is.

  • (laughter)

  • You've done it again, Blueberry!

  • Isn't there a flip side to that though?

  • Then you make it cute and then people start to accept it?

  • You know, then we wake up and...?

  • (laughter)

  • I mean, I don't think that will happen in my time.

  • Hm.

  • I'm sorry you had to hear that, Blueberry.

  • When you're ready to turn Kory into a human puppet,

  • give me a ring, and we'll bring the cameras.

(slow electronic music)

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