Real comedians will go toe-to-toe with AI at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse on Columbia Pike.
On Friday, the old-school theater will host an interactive comedy show called “Comedy GPT.” Audience members will be able to spar with comedians and see if AI is as funny as they are.
Rahmein Mostafavi, a local comedian and a guest host on ARLnow’s upcoming podcast, will host the event.
In addition to Mostafavi, the event will feature local comedians Jamal Russell and Winston Hodges. Mostafavi shared that there will be stand-up comedy, improv, AI-generated poetry, karaoke and sketches.
“I have a few different facets in there to see if Chat GPT can keep up, if it’s funny — you know, if the written words are funny, or if it’s just comedic watching GPT kind of fail,” Mostafavi said. “We will discover that as we go.”
At one point in the show, audience members can volunteer to perform Chat GPT’s jokes and go head-to-head with a stand-up comedian.
While Mostafavi says that AI has yet to affect comic performers, the show aims to address concerns that the technology could replace jobs in specialized industries.
“When it really comes down to it, the intricacies thus far of human nature — our responsiveness, our sensitivities, our inflections — are still very important, but this is the beginning,” Mostafavi said.