With the ever-looming threat of artificial intelligence to so many jobs, the performing arts are in the unusual position of being relatively safe from being taken over by our own unnerving creation. Not only that, but I suspect that the influx of AI-generated content will create a hunger for physical experiences around the world that might just send people back to the theatre in droves.
In a world where we’ll soon be able to instantly make a thousand songs or five hundred movies in mere seconds with software such as Udio or Sora, the digital experience will cease to be meaningful, as we’ll be unable to tell what’s real any more (do you know if this article was written by a human?). However, the silver lining to all of this is that we might start gathering more frequently again, which means that live performances might just be on the verge of a resurgence. You can’t fake being a pianist on stage. Being somewhere physically has become our only guarantee that what we are seeing is real, and since our need for art will never abandon us, that gives those working in the performing arts an excellent opportunity to embrace their role and start making performances that are 100% live.
