Schiffbau-Matchbox
In the digital realm, ‘hallucination’ refers to misleading perceptions created by artificial intelligence systems. The AI generates false information or delivers an interpretation of reality that does not align with the actual situation. These hallucinations may arise due to erroneous data, faulty modelling, or other weaknesses in the AI’s training. Unwanted distortions ensue, the consequences and effects of which are neither foreseeable nor controllable.
In Swiss playwright Maria Ursprung’s new work, we peer into the life of Sera, a programmer. Since she began working with a self-generated AI, her seemingly normal everyday life is suddenly destabilised. Rock solid certainties blur; routines come unhinged; the boundaries between Sera’s analogue and digital worlds are increasingly dissolving. What is real, what isn’t? What is artificial, what’s organic? Mother, brother, neighbour, boss: who is whose construct, and what again was the difference between AI and humans?
HALLUCINATION is a commissioned work for the Schauspielhaus Zürich. Based on a family history, it addresses fundamental social questions in the context of rapidly developing AI technology. This world premiere is directed by Helge Schmidt, winner of the Faust Theatre Prize, who, together with his team, is staging a play in Zurich for the first time.
