Comedians performing in clubs, theatres, TV shows, movies, festivals, and online platforms could soon lose their jobs.
In a groundbreaking study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers have found that artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, can generate funnier jokes than humans. From roasting Google to being unsure if a man who died in 1956 is still alive, the AI bot has provided unwitting entertainment. AI, which was originally designed to be an aid for writing tedious copy, has apparently found more entertaining uses for ChatGPT.
According to the study, humor might be one of the last frontiers for artificial intelligence to conquer (is there a Turing test for laughter?). While ChatGPT won’t be performing stand-up comedy anytime soon, there is potential here — even if it’s only ironically.
ChatGPT outshines humans in humor
The study, conducted by Drew Gorenz, a Ph.D. student in social psychology at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, aimed to assess whether AI could match or surpass human humor.
Based on a statement by Drew Gorenz, a Ph. D. student in social psychology at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the study aimed to assess whether AI is capable of matching or even beating human beings in humor.
ChatGPT/AI vs. Human Humor: The Results
The research compared jokes created by ChatGPT 3.5 with those crafted by people, evaluating participants’ reactions. In the first part of the study, participants rated the funniness of jokes without knowing whether they were AI-generated or human-created.
An impressive 68.2% of participants found the ChatGPT jokes funnier than those written by humans. Only 25% preferred human-generated jokes, while a mere 5% found jokes from both sources equally funny.
These results were consistent regardless of the age, gender, marital status, or education level of the participants.
AI Takes on Professional Satirists
In a second experiment, researchers explored how ChatGPT’s humor would compare to that of professional humor writers.
They tasked ChatGPT with generating satirical headlines in the style of The Onion. Another group of 200 people then rated the funniness of these AI-generated headlines against original Onion headlines.
Remarkably, participants found the ChatGPT headlines just as amusing as the original ones.
The study’s first phase involved ChatGPT and 105 participants engaging in three humor-related tasks, generating over 945 jokes from humans and 180 from ChatGPT.
Participants rated the humor level of these jokes, and ChatGPT consistently produced funnier content on average.
Implications for AI and Humor
“Since ChatGPT can’t feel emotions itself, but it tells novel jokes better than the average human, these studies provide evidence that you don’t need to feel the emotions of appreciating a good joke to tell a really good one yourself,” said Gorenz. This insight raises intriguing questions about the role of emotions in humor creation.
The second phase of the study had ChatGPT creating new headlines based on original Onion ones. Participants found these AI-generated headlines just as humorous, demonstrating that AI can match professional satirists in headline creation.
Impact on Entertainment Industry
The study’s findings have significant implications for the future of AI in entertainment. While AI’s ability to produce humor may benefit everyday communication, it poses a potential threat to professional comedy writers. Gorenz noted, “The implications are more positive for people who merely want to reap the benefits of elevating their everyday communications with a dose of humor. But for professional comedy writers, our results suggest that LLMs can pose a serious employment threat.”
As AI continues to evolve, its impact on human creativity and employment in the comedy industry remains an open question. This research underscores the potential of AI in the realm of humor, suggesting a future where machines and humans might collaborate — or compete — in the art of making people laugh.
There’s one caveat though: According to Trend Micro, the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT has opened up new opportunities for cybercriminals through the faster production of more potent malware, as well as new scams. One of these entails the use of ‘deepfakes,’ with malicious users now utilizing them to spread misinformation, damage reputation, and even commit fraud.
To know more about this phenomenon, check out this other post: https://fintechnewsph.com/trend-micro-developing-deepfake-detector-to-help-combat-misinformation-2/.