A computer programmer by day and a playwright by night, Islander Jonah Lipsky has always been drawn to stories that feature science as a central theme. A reading of Cut It Out, his new play about artificial intelligence and its human impacts, will come to the West Tisbury Library this Saturday, the result of a years-long creative process inspired by Mr. Lipsky’s “under the hood” look at the world of computers.
“This is its first public reading,” Mr. Lipsky said. “I have gotten really good feedback from some Island actors. I did a reading with some people of an earlier version of the script back in June...I’ve revised it and now it’s an 80-page play.”
Mr. Lipsky said that the human effects of artificial intelligence can be “a very hard domain to emotionally connect with.” Things can be too theoretical, too technical. “But we’re all aware that it’s coming to define our world,” he added.
As a playwright with a unique day-to-day kind of insight, Mr. Lipsky saw an opportunity to realize the “human story” of artificial intelligence.
“This is not a diatribe about the pros and cons of any particular technology,” Mr. Lipsky said. “This is, like, the human story in a circumstance where technology exists in a certain way, and so the human side of things has been kind of my guiding star.”
Although Mr. Lipsky didn’t want to reveal much, he said that the play focuses on a group of artificial intelligence engineers working in the near future.
The reading will feature a number of local actors, including Mr. Lispky’s fiancé Hallie Brevetti.
The reading is open to the public and begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the West Tisbury Library.
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