DeepFake theatre review: Information dump
This chilling look at AI’s potential asks whether technological progress offers liberation or the theft of identity
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A short, sardonic comment on the rise of AI, DeepFake invites the single audience member to become a valued member of the team. Left to ponder the business reports for a new application capable of imitating the voice and appearance of the user, it asks: does the application of advanced mimicry offer the freedom to create or threaten the technological theft of more than just identity? Breaking traditional barriers between audience and performers (the actors call in through a computer and the audience takes on the role of an office worker), DeepFake is an information dump that pits business potential against social threat.
It is impeccably even-handed, acknowledging the fear that AI (or those who use it) might not be contained while admitting that it offers help to the weary worker. The sinister implications of a machine that can speak in place of a human are hidden in the mundanity of procedure and well-intentioned entrepreneurs. This is the end of the world as a whimper, a measured reflection on technology that offers time to think. Eschewing the theatrical, it is a gentle but ultimately chilling argument that allows the audience to make their own choices, until it’s too late.
DeepFake, Underbelly Cowgate, until 30 August, every 15 minutes from 2–5.30pm; picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.