Can AI fill in for Sawabe from Haraichi?

I want to make people laugh.

I am by no means a comedian, but I am dedicated to exploring humor every day with the sole desire to write pieces that make people laugh. Because of this, I hold comedians in high regard.

Among the many types of comedy, I am quite fond of Haraichi's 'nori-boke' (go-along-with-the-joke) manzai. Sawabe takes the phrases Iwai mutters and expresses them in a funny way. The uniqueness of the structure and the ease of creating a template are likely the keys to the appeal of nori-boke manzai.

By the way, Haraichi is currently very popular and busy. Sawabe, in particular, has even ranked first in the number of television program appearances. If Sawabe is this busy, doesn't that mean we won't be able to see any new nori-boke manzai?

Wait a minute? We are in an era where AI is on the rise. With modern technology, couldn't it act as a substitute for the busy Sawabe? If that were to happen, wouldn't nori-boke manzai be possible with just Iwai?

Alright, if that's the case, there's no time like the present. Let's immediately test if Google Gemini can handle the role of Sawabe.

Oh, it actually feels a bit like Sawabe. Now all I have to do is input the punchline phrases as Iwai.

However, if I were to input existing material here, the AI would just 'find and select something that already has a correct answer.' There is no way to expect a new nori-boke manzai from this.

So, I'd like to try it with a completely original bit I wrote before. This should accurately reveal the AI's 'Sawabe-ness'.

Hmm, this isn't what I expected. This isn't a part where you should be piling on so many words. Just stop at something like, 'Oh, that's not bad, a hamburger. It's delicious, after all.' Don't ask questions back in the middle of a manzai routine.

Well, well, it's only just begun, so Sawabe's style will probably come out eventually. Next.

Wow, it's way too cringey for you to set up your own joke and then deliver your own punchline. I'm going to cool down for a second. Even though we're only two lines into the bit.

What is this about the possibility of a cheeseburger-flavored gummy? What is this cheeseburger philosophy? That's not what Haraichi's manzai is about. Is this going to be okay?

It's somehow overly tedious for every single joke. Also, I haven't even made a joke yet.

Even if a 'burger with chicken ramen sandwiched in a bun' appeared, that would be the perfect opportunity for a nori-boke, wouldn't it?

Now, the punchline phrases are coming in from here. Make sure you do a proper nori-boke, AI Sawabe.

Hey.

Why are you playing the straight man so normally? 'This isn't a manzai routine!' is my line.

*Similar exchanges continue from here, so please watch the digest version.

This is terrible. You don't understand Haraichi at all! Plus, each part is long and tedious. Also, you don't need to address every single joke made up to that point. To top it all off, you even started asking, 'How is this manzai routine supposed to end?' in the middle of it. A manzai performer shouldn't be saying that.

I guess even for an AI, replacing Sawabe is a tough task...

No. It shouldn't be like this. AI has the ability to learn by having data fed into it.

Let's try giving it a piece of advice.

Suddenly using polite language. For some reason, the 'Sawabe-ness' disappears only at this moment. In the end, it came back as some kind of intense, sweaty Sawabe. It's not about 'Are you ready?'

But well, maybe this will allow it to perform the 'nori-boke' (straight man/funny man) style of stand-up comedy we're looking for.

Witness the growth of the AI Sawabe that has learned!

It was a failure after all!!!!!

It ended the manzai routine on its own. And it casually leaked location information, too.

Conclusion.AI cannot replace Sawabe from Haraichi.

However, compared to the first attempt, it seems to understand what a "nori-boke" (rhythmic gag) is. Perhaps by providing examples, it was able to derive an optimal solution (though it's still far from being called that) from them. Since it can learn and grow this much with just these hints, if we teach it more about Haraichi and Sawabe, the day when an "AI Sawabe" is born will surely come.

That said, I felt that it is quite difficult to achieve at this point in time. This means that comedy routines are, after all, very complex and profound things. Even if you rely on AI with the desire to make people laugh, you won't get an ultra-C (a miraculous move).

Thinking about it that way, comedy talents are amazing. It is a profession that cannot be performed without high levels of intelligence, judgment, and spontaneity. Moreover, since humor has trends and freshness, it is also necessary to constantly update it.

Comedy has a long history, but as long as it has a nature that is easily influenced by trends, there are many things that won't work using the "same method as before." Furthermore, since laughter is something that cannot be measured by calculations or past data, perhaps it is necessary to always keep our eyes on people and the world. This is likely common to everything necessary in human society, not just comedy.

I would like to keep an eye on the future of AI to see how people, and AI, will adapt to this irregular and rapid flow.

(The End)