Could a robot ever be funny? In a sharp standup act, comedian Jena Friedman lambasts the mad dash to develop AI and offers a surprising take on why it will never replace comedians. (Contains mature content.)For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Full Episode
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. For me, comedy is a necessary lens through which to look at the issues we're facing in the world. It's a place to laugh and sometimes cry laugh.
In this hilarious and searing set from comedian and screenwriter Jenna Friedman, she asks us to consider the things that separate us from machines and wonders, will we continue to get replaced by AI? Will we be replaced by robots? but maybe not the stand-up comics. I don't want to give too much away, so I'm just going to leave it there.
And a heads up that today's talk contains mature content that may not be suitable for all audiences.
Artificial intelligence is really changing my industry. That's partly what last year's writer's strike was about, putting limits on the use of AI as it pertains to TV and film. And if there's anyone here under 25, TV and film ... are like TikTok, but you get paid for it. Thankfully, we won that strike.
Yes, our win was as effective at protecting the careers of human writers from AI as pouring water on a laptop. The future for television writers is so bleak, it has inspired me to get back into stand-up. Which is why I'm here at TED. I have been told before that some of my stand-up comedy is like a TED Talk, from mean people on the internet. But at least they didn't call me fat.
Being a woman online is fun. A lot of my friends are really afraid of artificial intelligence right now. Sorry, a lot of my male friends are really afraid of AI. My female friends have other, more frivolous concerns, like getting home safely, but my male friends ... are so scared of robots. And I get it. I've seen Ex Machina.
If you haven't seen it, Ex Machina is a dystopian sci-fi horror movie about a sentient robot who has to flirt with her captor to escape her prison, which is pretty much every woman's first job. How is that a horror movie? I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the director pitched it. Was he just like, picture your worst nightmare. Your sex robot becomes conscious.
And then decides she doesn't want to have sex with you. And all the men in the room are like, oh, the horror! No, that can happen! Take my money, we have to make sure that doesn't happen. That's how movies get made in Hollywood. So maybe AI won't be so bad for my industry. Regardless, you should feel lucky to see a person up here, because in five years, it will be a robot. You're saying two?
Cool. In two years, it'll be a robot, and you'll all be laughing at him. Yes, it'll be a male robot. Our female robot's funny. Not in two years. They're going to need another 10. That male robot, he'll be so funny to you, you'll be like, oh my God, he really gets me. Yeah, he does, because he's data mining you. You might not like all of my content, but it's because I'm protecting your privacy.
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