Debate on Artificial Intelligence and Performing Arts

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is finding its way into various human activities. The opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence in the performing arts were discussed at the 24th edition of the International Conference on Theatre Studies hosted by the University of Arts in Târgu Mureş. According to the educational institution, "The Conference on "Performing Arts and Artificial Intelligence' aims to bring together educators, researchers, artists, and doctoral students interested in reflecting on the opportunities and risks of such technologies in relation to the performing arts. Our conference aims to discuss the opportunities and risks of such technologies in relation to the performing arts. Can artificial intelligence enhance vitality or tend to replace it? Will these technologies be naturally integrated into the performing arts, generating new forms of expression, or is artificial intelligence a threat to human memory, creativity, or thinking? How great is the temptation of information manipulation and ideological distortion?" According to the organizers, the meeting aimed to answer a series of questions related to the guidelines of performances that question or include the potential of artificial intelligence in their theatrical endeavors, as well as the artistic motivations of creators exploring these technologies. Participants also analyzed how the relationships between the natural and artificial, real and virtual, human and machine have evolved in the theatrical context, including from artistic, psychological, pedagogical, ethical, aesthetic, technical perspectives, etc. According to the University of Arts in Târgu Mureş, from laboratory experiments reserved only for programmers a few decades ago, human-machine interaction through artificial intelligence platforms has become a presence accessible with just a click today.