K.I.M. - Lotte is Suffering - Salzburg State Theatre

Youth play for ages 12 and up

What’s the big deal about talking to a machine about feelings? Nothing, thinks Lotte, because KIM at least listens to her – and so she pours her heart out to the artificial intelligence. It feels really good for her to talk all the burdens off her chest – and besides, she even gets paid for it. Even if the job is a bit strange, it helps Lotte with her fresh start. Institute director Wilhelm is pleased with the progress. KIM learns quickly and adapts to Lotte rapidly. But instead of dealing with her old feelings, new ones quickly arise for Lotte – specifically for KIM. However, KIM only exploits Lotte’s feelings. When Lotte realizes that KIM is misusing their conversations to feign humanity and emotions to the elderly residents in the nursing home, her patience runs out. It’s time to draw a line. Just in time, she recognizes the difference between an algorithm and genuine empathy.

Chatbots, smart homes, search engines, navigation systems, spam filters, smartwatches, and more – we are increasingly surrounded by AI in various forms. How does this assistance affect our human emotions?

Flo Staffelmayr succeeds in this text in highlighting the current blending of human and machine and making it clear that while emotions can be copied, machines cannot feel – unlike Lotte.