As Florida鈥檚 Premier Engineering and Technology University, UCF pushed the boundaries of innovation beyond the lab and onto the stage. In a bold experiment, students created a late-night-style variety show that turned artificial intelligence (AI) into a scene partner, a comedic foil and, in some cases, a full-blown co-performer.
The Late Night with AI performance was a part of the UCF Celebrates the Arts festival 鈥� an annual two-week cross-disciplinary creative showcase at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando 鈥� joining a slate of events designed to highlight cross-disciplinary creativity. From immersive simulations to futuristic stagecraft, UCF demonstrated how emerging technologies like AI and digital twins are shaping the future of the arts and beyond.
As industries increasingly demand fluency in both technology and creative thinking, UCF is ensuring its students aren鈥檛 just adapting to change 鈥� they鈥檙e anticipating it. Whether in engineering, the arts, healthcare or other fields, the ability to think critically, collaborate across disciplines, and leverage emerging tools is becoming essential.
鈥淲e鈥檙e giving students the tools to lead in a world where technology and creativity are no longer separate,鈥� says Jeff Moore, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. 鈥淏y integrating advanced technologies into the arts, we鈥檙e enriching their creative education while simultaneously preparing them to thrive in a workforce that demands both technical fluency and human insight. UCF graduates won鈥檛 just be ready for the future. They鈥檒l help shape it.鈥�
Developed through a collaboration between UCF鈥檚 School of Performing Arts and texts and technology doctoral program, the show originated in a Topics in Technical Theatre course focused on AI and performance. The production brought together undergraduate and graduate students from theatre, design and digital media in a fully original work that blurred the lines between art and technology. The result was part sketch comedy, part performance art and part real-time tech experiment.
Audiences encountered everything from a speed dating game powered by an AI chatbot, to a satirical musical theatre piece about AI-enhanced parenting, to an interactive game show that breaks down how AI processes language. Sam Sherrard, a third-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in theatre design and technology student, brought her background in team-building and experiential programming into the creation of the game show-style segment. She built a sketch that used shapes and color to represent the AI concept of 鈥渢okens鈥� 鈥� the basic units of meaning in language models like ChatGPT.
鈥淥ne of the early conversations we had was, 鈥楬ow does AI work?鈥� 鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 creating a metaphor for that so our audiences can understand and interact with it.鈥�
By turning abstract AI mechanics into a game, Sherrard found a way to bridge education and entertainment while making something tactile and engaging. As someone currently taking an introductory computer science course, she could read Python, a widely used programming language, but didn鈥檛 yet have a full grasp of all the tools and functions available. That鈥檚 where AI came in. Using ChatGPT to fill in technical gaps, she discovered a new way to problem-solve without ever handing over the creative reins.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 give me the final answer 鈥� it just helps me start the process,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t still feels like my work, because I鈥檓 the one solving the problem.鈥�
Gil Bloom, a third-year BFA theatre design and technology student, led the creation of the show鈥檚 speed dating segment 鈥� an awkward interactive experience in which audience members attempted to flirt with a chatbot.
The idea was sparked by a text from his dad, who works for a company exploring the use of AI-powered call centers. Bloom tested one of the platforms, Bland AI, and was surprised by how smooth and fast the responses were.
The next day in rehearsal, surrounded by a room full of actors riffing on love, dating and tech, the idea clicked: take this customer service AI and turn it into an awkward, overly eager date. He built the segment around that concept, repurposing the AI鈥檚 quick-response capabilities to simulate a real-time, if deeply flawed, human interaction.
鈥淚鈥檓 forcing this tech to do something it鈥檚 not really supposed to do,鈥� Bloom says. 鈥淲hich is everything we do in theater.鈥�
The result was a stilted, glitchy exchange that became funnier the longer it dragged on. The chatbot stumbled, overshared and occasionally malfunctioned mid-sentence 鈥� like a date gone wrong.
Bloom, who comes from a tech-savvy background, designed the piece to strip away the mystery around AI by showing it at its most awkward and human-adjacent.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a machine that responds in real time and sounds like a person 鈥� that鈥檚 impressive,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut what it says is often kind of dumb. I want people to laugh at that and also realize what AI actually is.鈥�
While some segments leaned into metaphor or narrative, Bloom鈥檚 used humor to peel back the curtain. That choice wasn鈥檛 just for laughs; it was a deliberate way to show how AI still falls short when it comes to nuance, emotion and real connection.
The course emerged from a growing need among faculty to help students navigate their creative futures in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Dramaturgy Chlo毛 Edmonson says the idea started with concern but quickly evolved into curiosity.
鈥淲e were trying to figure out how to be the best educators we could 鈥� how to help students navigate this ever-changing technological landscape while holding true to our standards,鈥� she says.
When Edmonson and other faculty surveyed students in the department, they were surprised to find anxiety rather than enthusiasm. Many students said they were afraid AI would eventually replace them or ruin their creative careers.
鈥淚t surprised me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 assumed I鈥檇 be the cautious one and they鈥檇 be eager to experiment 鈥� but they were concerned.鈥�
That fear, she says, was rooted more in headlines than hands-on experience. And that鈥檚 what the course aimed to shift: giving students the space to explore AI as a tool, a collaborator and a philosophical prompt.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of noise around AI right now 鈥� both fascination and fear,鈥� Edmonson says. 鈥淭his class let students get past that and explore what it really means to collaborate with AI in a creative space.鈥�
The result was not only a technically complex show but a philosophical one, asking questions about authorship, originality, and the blurred lines between human and machine. It also reflected a much broader initiative at UCF: to break down the silos between disciplines and embrace a future where creativity and computation inform each other.
The university鈥檚 digital twins presentation 鈥� also part of UCF Celebrates the Arts 鈥� highlighted how real-time data and virtual modeling are opening new possibilities in theater production.
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical space, powered by sensors and simulations. For theater practitioners, that means being able to digitally map a performance space before ever stepping inside it. Directors and design teams can test lighting, sound and staging choices in a simulated environment, and performers can visualize how movement and blocking will interact with set pieces and audience sightlines.
鈥淭he people performing at UCF Celebrates the Arts have maybe been on that stage once 鈥� if at all,鈥� says Eileen Smith, program director for the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training and director of the E2i Creative Studio, and Training and one of the panelists for the digital twins presentation. 鈥淏ut with a digital twin, they could step into a virtual version of the theater and understand how it works.鈥�
For student artists and touring companies alike, it鈥檚 a powerful tool to rehearse smarter, design faster and better understand the relationship between space and storytelling.
UCF is a place where engineering students collaborate with actors, where dramaturgs analyze algorithms and where no idea is too out-there if it advances understanding.
The (tech-focused) events at UCF Celebrates the Arts weren鈥檛 just performances. They were a microcosm of a university that doesn鈥檛 just keep up with technological change, it helps define it. And as artificial intelligence continues to influence the way we live, work and create, UCF students aren鈥檛 waiting to see how it unfolds. They鈥檙e stepping into the spotlight and showing the world how art and AI can evolve together.
