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LYFE MONDAY | MAY 18, 2026

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Getting AI to resurrect famous writer W HAT might France’s greatest playwright have written had he not died of tuberculosis in 1673? “language of Moliere”. Written in 17th-century French, the AI creation hit the stage at the Royal Opera of Versailles in early May. o French scholars use technology to write play inspired by 17th century author Moliere “The plot is very Moliere-esque,” said the Quebec native, adding the name of the father’s favourite astrologer, Pseudoramus or a pseudo Nostradamus, was “a clever invention by AI.” fairly quickly, as Moliere was interested in “denouncing human credulity,” Bouffard said.

For the costumes and sets, the technology was trained using sketches by Henri de Gissey, a costume designer and decorator for the court of King Louis XIV. Musicologists guided the AI’s musical output using sheet music. The stage production involves nine actors, two dancers and four musicians. It showcases wigs, hand sewn costumes and sets made using period techniques. AFP attended a recent rehearsal at the Theatre des Trois Pierrots in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris. The plot and dialogue appeared plausible. The actors’ use of Classical French and historically faithful declamation could however disorientate some viewers. Generative AI tools have surged into prominence in recent years, dramatically reshaping the world. The use of AI remains one of the most sensitive issues in the entertainment industry and has generated debate. But the teams behind the Sorbonne project defend it as an innovative cultural experiment. “AI gives us superpowers we don’t have: a universal memory and the ability to write quickly,” said Bouffard. Chauvin stressed humans were still at the heart of the production. “We actually saw some truly impressive effects from AI at times but the overall structure was achieved thanks to human work and very human skills.”

A team of French scholars, researchers and artists have joined forces to tap into the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to create a play they say Moliere himself might have written. The Astrologer or False Omens is the result of three years of collaboration between the Sorbonne University and Obvious, a French trio of artists and researchers, who have trained AI to imitate Moliere’s style and mastery of satire. The playwright, considered the father of modern French comedy, is as central to the nation’s culture as Shakespeare to the English-speaking world – so much so that French refer to their native tongue as the

The three-act farce tells the story of a credulous father whose obsession with astrology leads him to force his young daughter to marry an old wigmaker. Fidelity to Moliere’s creative process and scholarly rigour were at the heart of the project, said Pierre Marie Chauvin, a Sorbonne vice president. “There is no existing protocol for creating a play in the style of Moliere, so we had to devise one but in the most rigorous way possible and above all the most faithful,” he said regarding the matter. The Sorbonne has said the Moliere Ex Machina project was

L’Astrologue ou Les faux presages ( The Astrologer or the False Omens ) is written in the style of the 17th-century French playwright Moliere by AI. – PICS FROM AFP

with Coraline Renaux, a doctoral student in literature and Mickael Bouffard, head of Theatre Moliere Sorbonne, which seeks to revive theatrical techniques of the 17th century. The work was subsequently submitted to reading committees, tasked with checking its syntax and overall coherence. “In creating this piece, there were at least 20,000 back-and-forth exchanges between the algorithms and the creative team,” said Gauthier Vernier of Obvious. The AI was also trained to create about 15 costumes as well as music and sets. “For each costume, we’d go through around 50 iterations. We had a huge number of back-and-forth discussions,” said Hugo Caselles Dupre, also of Obvious. ‘Very human skills’ The theme of astrology emerged

be made,” he added. He said that is because Air Bud is a quintessential family film, one that a whole generation remembers from childhood. “People that grew up with ( Air Bud )... are millennials that were 10 years old when they saw the original one. They are now parents and they have kids of their own.” And, of course, a cute-as-a-button golden retriever who can shoot hoops as well as he can act is always going to hit the mark, he said. “It’s all dog, all the time. We have an audience that grew up with the original Air Bud movie where there was no CGI. And so we kept that promise in this movie as well,” he said. At a time when Hollywood is grappling with the job-killing effects of AI – and as the organisers of the Oscars and the Golden Globes have said avatars cannot win prizes – Vince said he is confident the new technology will never displace the warmth of a real-life performer, human or animal. “Despite what everybody wants you to believe, I don’t really believe it’s happening. You don’t get any emotion out of that,” he said. aimed at “bringing to life a world that never was, but could have been” and acknowledged its attempt to imitate Moliere “was bold, almost sacrilegious.” Chauvin said the success of the project would be measured by its effect on the audience. “Does it make people laugh?” Chauvin said. AI music and costumes The project is being billed as the first theatrical play written by AI. It cost one million euros (RM4.6 million), funded by North American donors and a handful of French patrons. Researchers worked with Le Chat, a generative AI tool developed by the French start-up Mistral, training it on Moliere’s body of work as well as dialogues and philosophical treatises. The generated text was then reviewed during writing workshops

The play follows a superstitious man marrying his daughter off to a wigmaker.

Air Bud sequel director says CGI cannot replace performance of dog actors

WHEN director Robert Vince was filming Air Bud Returns , he was impressed to see Roscoe, his four legged star, improvising concern in a scene where two humans burst into tears. “He’s curious to what’s going on. This is real,” Vince told AFP. Having done more than a dozen productions featuring dogs, Vince said he is still impressed by the authenticity that animal actors bring to film sets. For him, the magic of a canine performer cannot ever be replicated by artificial intelligence (AI). “You look at how much joy this dog and human actors give you, right?” he said, gesturing to Roscoe the golden retriever star of Air Bud Returns who is wearing a T-shirt and basketball shoes, still boundlessly enthusiastic despite greeting fans for hours. Vince, 64, said every technological innovation initially causes a stir and sparks curiosity among audiences. But wizardry can only wow for so long before audiences see through it and start looking to the fundamentals again. “I remember when visual effects

really (appeared), everybody was like: ‘Oh, those are so cool. We’re gonna do a million superhero movies.’ “After a while, it’s like: ‘Oh, I’ve seen that before.’ It’s really about your emotional connection to the characters. There’s an authenticity to this type of filmmaking that does not go away,” he said. Sports bark Air Bud Returns , slated for release in US cinemas in 2027, is the latest chapter in a franchise that began in 1997 featuring a runaway circus dog who has an extraordinary ability to play basketball. Subsequent instalments took in other popular sports, including American football ( Air Bud: Golden Receiver ), football ( Air Bud: World Pup ) and baseball ( Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch ). For Vince, who spoke at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, the audience reception to news of the latest production which sees the canine hero back on the basketball court has been “overwhelming.” “But I can’t say I’m surprised. We know from social media... that this movie was basically being begged to

Vince says he loves the authenticity of animal actors on film sets. – AFPPIC