A Victoria University researcher is working to help artificial intelligence understand and use irony, one of the foundations of humour.
Applied linguistics lecturer Stephen Skalicky has received a Marsden Grant to model the qualities and patterns that make up irony, a concept he says is notoriously difficult to define.
“What I want to do is teach that concept to artificial intelligence,” Skalicky said.
Tech companies are under commercial pressure to improve AI’s understanding of irony and sarcasm, which appear frequently in social media posts and customer reviews.
An example: “This is the best” could be sincere praise or cutting sarcasm, depending on context — a distinction AI currently struggles to make.
Currently, only humans can effectively deploy irony, though AI is starting to recognise it.
Skalicky said the challenge lies in irony’s elusive nature.
“The problem or the disconnect is that irony is very difficult to define,” he said.
Irony also features prominently in political commentary and is one of the foundations of comedy.
Comedian Tim Batt, a two-time Billy T Award nominee, said he doesn’t feel threatened by the prospect of AI mastering irony, but acknowledged the concept raises questions.
“They’re not coming from a place of experience, human experience,” Batt said of AI-generated jokes. He described himself as very sarcastic and a big irony user.
Skalicky also said he suspected people aren’t ready to bond with comedians over AI-generated humour. But he said there’s commercial pressure to get AI to recognise ironic language when it scrapes human data.
The researcher acknowledged the philosophical questions his work raises.
“Do we want AI to understand irony? I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Skalicky said.
Batt opined: “People are feeling essentially more lonely and isolated than they ever have.
“I think we actually need to be very protective over the human things that are connecting us together.”
For Whena Owen’s full Q+A report, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
