Training A.I. to replace us takes centerstage in Unicorn’s world premiere of Doctor Moloch

Doctor Moloch at Unicorn. // Photo by Don Ipock

In a time of unprecedented throwing your hands up in the air and asking wtf is going on, next to the systemic dismantling of our government by an unelected oligarch one of the most pressing areas of confusion, frustration, and ethical quandary is the rapid creep of artificial intelligence into every corner of our lives. You might’ve noticed in January of this year, as everything from your operating system on your phone to your email account to your grocery list that “beta” versions of A.I. are suddenly a “bonus feature”—one of those few bonuses in life that you don’t remember asking for or granting permissions unto. In a moment where the end goals are vague but the overarching technological movement plows ahead, you are not alone in wondering what part humans are supposed to play in this.

If you’ve been on the hunt for jobs in the last year, you’ve almost certainly encountered gigs for helping to train A.I. in some format, from writing to testing to feedback to even (extremely low-paying) voice recording work. Where are we supposed to participate in this when all work seems to be trending toward helping digital models make the next giant leaps for/against mankind? More specifically, should we be taking low-paying work to help train our own replacements? If that’s where the work is, it’s hard to turn it down. But if you engage, are you making certain that, in the long run, there’s no need for your skillset at all?

This whole mishmash of disconnect takes centerstage in writer Carla Milarch’s captivating new play Doctor Moloch, currently onstage at the Unicorn Theatre.

Doctor Moloch opens with Serena (Chioma Anyanwu), a famous actress hired to help a humanoid A.I. robot doctor (Logan Black) better communicate with his patients. Dr. Moloch’s diagnoses are 100% accurate but his bedside manner leaves much to be desired. His creator Mo (Alexander Salamat) has the idea to bring in a professional empathizer to help him regulate his emotions—assuming he does in fact have any. Mo has tasked this “emotional consultant” with the seemingly impossible job of getting Moloch to not just act human, but to be human.

Serena is a mult-Oscar-winning actress whose impressive body of work—and her physical looks—are both sliding into the category of “Classics” (derogatory) and her professional career is currently stalled due to legal matters surrounding Netflix stealing her likeness for a deepfaked performance. [The recent SAG-AFTRA strike named generative AI and regulation of this exact sort of “digital replica” creation as a central demand, so it’s not like this show is dealing with the whataboutism of a far-flung future.]

Doctor Moloch at Unicorn. // Photo by Don Ipock

The three actors, locked in an almost performatively silly sci-fi bunker (complimentary), form a triangle of conflicting motivations between Mo (capitalism’s slave), Serena (emotion’s wrangler), and the good doctor (the almost-almost human condition) as they struggle to both teach a robot to love while also battling the very definition of what “success” in this endeavor.

Director Sidonie Garrett takes Milarch’s script and makes sure our leads never stop actively circling the space as they circle their own intentionality—keeping a physicality to the psychological duel at play. Anyanwu does her usual tremendous work in captivating an audience with every carefully chosen gesture and her ability to pivot to a steely demeanor that can cut like a knife through any situation. Salamat’s tech bro leaching patience as his meat-only diet drives him further into assholedom is consistently on point and Black’s take on an advanced android being is nothing short of sublime—hitting sitcom humor, crushing defeat, biblical awe, and existential terror… often in the same monologue. [Honestly, I think Logan Black’s performance is the kind of thing I’ll think about for years to come.]

Doctor Moloch in logline sounds like the kind of thing you’ve seen a dozen times before and seen done with clumsy, self-satisfied superiority: a group of people arguing about what makes a robot human or humans arguing with a robot about what makes humanity special. From highs like Ex-Machina and Metropolis down to the dregs of the SyFy Channel, the oversimplified pitch of this plot doesn’t sell like a “fun night out.” This show is so far outside the boundaries of its brethren that it is hard to overstate just how stunning it is—a massive accomplishment not just in delivery and theme, but in subverting expectations of the application of Plato and Asimov. It is vital work arriving at a depressingly pivotal moment.

This is not just a good show, this is a steadfast reminder of why Unicorn is truly a unicorn in the city’s theatrical world.

Doctor Moloch runs through February 16 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St.