The Glitching Therapist: Performing the Limits of AI Empathy

Manuel Flurin Hendry, Meredith Thomas, Paulina Zybinska, Linus Jacobson, Piotr W Mirowski

Track: Artwork

Keywords: Large Language Models, Human-Computer Interaction, AI Ethics, Performance Art, Virtual Humans

TL;DR: "Friendly Fire at the Shrink" is an interactive AI-driven theatrical performance that satirizes AI-powered mental healthcare by deliberately engineering system failure.

Abstract: "Friendly Fire at the Shrink" is an interactive, AI-driven performance that satirizes the field of AI-powered mental healthcare. Staged as a one-on-one session with a virtual therapist, the work explores the fraught relationship between genuine human connection and the computational imitation of empathy. By purposefully designing system failure as a narrative device, we question the tech industry’s solutionist approach to societal issues and provide a space to explore what it means to be human in an age where our vulnerabilities are targeted for technological fixing.

Submission Number: 135