Review: AI-themed, ‘anthropology’ in San Jose is both riveting and unsettling

Artificial intelligence and unforgiving humanity are strange bedfellows. In Lauren Gunderson’s AI thriller “anthropology,” penned a few years before our current morass of digital deep-fake infiltration, there are elements of the story which make the march towards a quotidian artificial zeitgeist downright scary.

Review: AI-themed, ‘anthropology’ in San Jose is both riveting and unsettling. Artificial intelligence and unforgiving humanity are strange bedfellows. In Lauren Gunderson’s AI thriller “anthropology,” penned a few years before our current morass of digital deep-fake infiltration, there are elements of the story which make the march towards a quotidian artificial zeitgeist downright scary. City Lights Theater Company’s production of Gunderson’s 2023 play gets a lot right, despite moments in the middle third that tend to lull more than crackle. The production’s hallmarks are the acting performances that are mostly quite strong, along with some scintillating technical aspects that affirm the show’s dystopian aims, unified smartly by Lisa Mallette’s active direction. AI expert Merril (Maria Marquis) has been in a massive funk for 13 months,...