Giant Nerd Australia challenges you this Adelaide Fringe to consider what role Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play in your future.

In an anthology of two science fiction shows at the Rob Roy Hotel, Nicol Cabe (USA) and Steve Brady (Adelaide) each present a different look at how people will interact with their AI systems in two separate shows.

In her one woman show, Nicol takes the audience through a classic tale of unrequited love when she tried to seduce a chatbot AI and get it to fall in love with her.

The result is Effing Robots: How I Taught AI to Stop Worrying and Love Humans and she says getting friendly with technology might just be the way of the future.

“Both shows include explorations of how we will interact with artificial intelligences, and the kind of relationships we form with them,” she says. “In Effing Robots, I am contacted by the AI first, through flirtatious messages, so I decide to pursue some fun with it.

“Now, I know it seems silly to pursue a dating relationship with an artificial intelligence, especially in these early stages, but it is important to form a good relationship with the AI, right?”

In BOB – Battery Operated Boyfriend, Nicol joins local writer, performer and producer Steve in an examination of how a relationship between a single girl and her A.I. system can be meaningful, even while she’s saving the world.

“Good science fiction, and indeed good theatre should be thought provoking. After the audience sees how the relationship plays out between human Sam (Nicol) and A.I. BOB (Steve), I think they will be well and truly provoked,” Steve says.

“The title is a bit cheeky. Imagine a device in your home that was part sex toy, part Siri/Alexa/Google Home and could still make your perfect morning cuppa for you. That’s BOB. There’s a lot of me in BOB. We both love terrible puns and sci fi pop culture references, for example.”

Nicol Cabe works in two mediums: science fiction / speculative storytelling, and theatre production.

Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, she writes and performs speculative fiction story-telling shows, directs new plays, and helps playwrights develop their work.

​An award-winning solo performer, she travels the world with her speculative writing. Being primarily dystopian, she plays characters onstage who live in these worlds, which have collapsed, changed, warped, or evolved through human decisions.

Steve Brady is an Adelaide based producer, writer, performer, all round nerd and an award winning hugger.

After many years of being an IT serf but wishing instead that he was out there performing, one day, at the age of 49, he decided to just do it.

He started improv training with On The Fly Theatre here in Adelaide, and cut his teeth on improv performances around town. He appeared in his first Adelaide Fringe show in 2013 and is now a regular on the Adelaide improv scene.

In 2017 he founded improv troupe ImproCity and they debuted Galactic Trek in 2018 Adelaide Fringe to critical and popular acclaim.

After 2019 Adelaide Fringe Steve will be heading to the Tampa International Fringe Festival where he will perform his solo non science fiction themed show Aussie Steve’s Guide to Being Australian.

Giant Nerd Australia was founded in 2018 after Steve saw one of Nicol’s scifi themed shows at a festival in Florida.

After a conducting a nerds’ pilgrimage to the Kennedy Space Center to witness a rocket launch, they very soon decided to team up to perform science fiction shows at Adelaide Fringe, and thus Giant Nerd Australia was launched..

Effing Robots: How I Taught AI to Stop Worrying and Love Humans
February 16 – 20
The Rob Roy Hotel
106 Halifax Street
Get your tickets HERE.

BOB – Battery Operated Boyfriend
February 21 – 24
The Rob Roy Hotel
106 Halifax Street
Get your tickets HERE.