Google DeepMind Finds AI Lacks a Sense of Humour

AI-based chatbots struggle to craft humorous jokes, researchers at Google DeepMind have discovered through experimentation.

Experts enlisted 20 professional comedians to use chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard to write stand-up routines, then asked them to evaluate the results and share their thoughts. The experiment took place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2023 and online.

It turns out that large language models (LLM) fail to produce funny content. Comedians described the output as “tasteless,” “very bad,” and “boring.” One noted it was “cruise ship comedy material from the 1950s, but slightly less racist.”

According to the study, AI can create outlines and segments of lengthy stand-up shows, but lacks the human touch that makes material amusing. Humans “add much more nuance, emotion, and subtlety thanks to their life experiences.”

AI does not grasp sarcasm, dark humour, or irony.

“Many of my things have dark moments, but it didn’t write dark things for me because it decided I wanted to commit suicide. So it just stopped giving me anything,” noted one participant.

Comedians highlighted the importance of cultural context and audience.

“The comedy I could shoot in India would be very different from what I could shoot in the UK because my social context would change,” said one of them.

Humour requires a shift in perspective, making it difficult for machines to master, noted researcher Thomas Winters.

LLMs generated content based on all accumulated materials, attempting to cover all possible disciplines, which introduced a degree of bias.

“Participants noted that existing moderation strategies used in safety filters and training LLMs amplify hegemonic viewpoints, erasing minority groups and their perspectives, and qualified this as a form of censorship,” the study states.

Popular LLMs are limited, Google DeepMind experts noted. They aim to deliver honest, harmless, and useful results.

In April, scientists from Google’s AI division began developing technology to create soundtracks for videos.

Earlier, DeepMind specialists created a virtual rat with AI as its brain.