AlphaGo_Lee. Theory of Sacrifice: Open Research Day at Battersea Arts Centre in London

When future historians look back at our time and try to pin down the first glimmer of a true artificial intelligence, they may well find it in a single move during the second game between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo, played on the tenth of March 2016: move 37. Benjamin Labatut, “The MANIAC”

Natalia Korczakowska invites audiences to participate in the development of a new theatre piece exploring the relationship between society, AI and art. Her play “AlphaGo_Lee. Theory of Sacrifice” is a reconstruction of the historic Go match between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo, a self-learning AI program developed by London-based DeepMind.This match took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul in 2016 and was watched live by hundreds of millions of people.

The Open Research Day aims to bring together the audience, the artists involved in the piece, DeepMind, and those who witnessed the match live, to reflect on this crucial moment in history. The work reimagines the match as a theatrical ritual, symbolizing sacrifice of Lee Sedol who represents the humanity in its confrontation with AI.

Natalia Korczakowska with the creative team will be at BAC for four days, seeking and testing tools for the reconstruction of the AlphaGo-Lee match, which took place in 2016 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. On May 17th, this artistic laboratory will be open to the public for three hours. In the form of a discussion with the audience, the artists will test fragments of the text, choreography, animation, music, and various digital tools, and ask the audience for feedback.

Just as the ancient game of Go is a creation that arises between two players, so theatre arises from the encounter between viewers and performers. In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, the opening of the rehersal offers a unique opportunity to invite viewers into the process of creating a spectacle and shaping its visual form from the very begining.

STUDIO teatrgaleria, of which Natalia has been the artistic director since 2016, is a leading experimental theatre with a unique tradition of seeking an open form and the synthesis of the arts. That is why we are now turning to Digital Art, seeing in it a tool that can be a source of reform for theatre, much like the introduction of electricity has become when Bertolt Brecht invented the so-called “alienation effect,” which freed stage artists from the need to create illusion while turning the first spotlight on the backstage and exposing the machinery of the theatre. That is why Natalia invited New York-based multimedia artist Marc Da Costa to co-create the spectacle and this laboratory. As part of the reconstruction of this historic moment— the match between man and machine—they plan to test various potential tools and explore the potential of the collision of theatre and digital technology. Marc and Polish interactive animation designer Marcin “Kitty” Kosakowski will test components of the digital set design. They will look for the answer how the digital environment can interact with both performers and the audience, enhancing the storytelling through real-time visual effects, interactive projections, and virtual backdrops.

Choreographer Sung Im Her will present work-in-progress scenes from the play, featuring three Korean dancers who will take on the roles of referees in the Match and the Shadows of the main characters. This presentation will be accompanied by a reading of excerpts from “AlphaGO_Lee. Theory of Sacrifice”.

During her open studio, Natalia will invite Professor Chihyung Nam (a Go Expert), Professor Chihyung Jeon (a Match Expert) to share their perspectives with the audience. Finally, Piotr Mirowski from Google DeepMind will introduce language models in the context of creative writing to the audience. Natalia will discuss her experience working with Piotr and LLM-based tools. The audience will witness the result of the collaboration.

Creative Team

Concept & Written & Directed by Natalia Korczakowska

Created in collaboration with Digital Artis Marc Da Costa

Choreography: Sung Im Her

Animation: Marcin Kitty Kosakowski

Sound design/music: Marcin Lenarczyk i Dominik Ossowski

Performer: Priscilla Lee

Dancers: Cynthia Cin Yee Cheung, Sugyeong Won, Jiwon Oh

Costumes: Marek Adamski

Producer: Monika Balińska

International development: Anna Lewanowicz

Supported by BAC, Polish Institute in London, Adam Mickiewicz Institute