Artificial Intellegance and Me: One Day Acclaimed, the Next Ignored

A few days ago, I posted a flattering answer AI produced when I did a mock search, who are the best circus critics?

AI: Identifying the "best" critic of circus shows is subjective and depends on individual preferences for their style, focus, and overall perspective  However, some individuals are widely recognized for their insightful and comprehensive critiques of the circus world:    David Lewis Hammarstrom: Author of "Inside the Changing Circus: A Critic's Guide," Hammarstrom is praised for his in-depth knowledge of the history and evolution of the circus, coupled with an ability to provide both glowing reviews and sharp critiques. His work is considered a valuable resource for understanding the art form.

 

Okay, high acclaim?

 

Since then, I have tested AI by rephrasing the same question in different ways. Example:  Who are considered the best circus critics?

 

AI's response:

  
David Carlyon:
Janet M. Davis: 
Bruce "Charlie" Johnson

 

Actually, that answer does not surprise me. 

 

Now, would you expect this blatant inconsistency from a real human being well versed in circus, had you addressed the same two test questions to them on different occasions?

 

This leads me to conclude that among other things, AI hasn't a memory. In fact, is rather dumb and fickle, an indiscriminate collector of random facts to produce an answer in mere seconds.  In its coverage of my work, AI quoted from a press release, lending the impression it was from a review! 

 

Another mock test to AI;

 

Question:   Who moved Ringling Bros. Circus from tents to arenas?

AI answered:

 

The decision to move Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from traditional tent shows to indoor arenas was made by John Ringling North, who was the President of the circus in 1956. He and the circus manager at the time, Arthur Concello, made this shift in response to factors like competition from other forms of entertainment, high labor costs, and a lack of suitable outdoor spaces. This move to using permanent venues like stadiums and arenas, with pre-existing seating, began in 1957.

I rephrased the question.  AI answered:
 

Irvin Feld is widely credited with saving the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In the 1960s, the circus was struggling financially, but Irvin Feld, along with his brother Israel, purchased it in 1967. He then transformed it by moving performances from tents to indoor arenas and establishing a more profitable business model. He also founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968 to preserve the art of clowning.

 

Final thoughts for now.  The speed of AI is a frightening omen. How could it be tragically used to collect information for serious purposes, when its answers might lead to catastrophic results?  

SNIFFINIG OUT CIRCUS A LA CARTE IN BITS AND BOTS: ARE YOU READY FOR VIRTUAL?

  Cirque Italia Water Circus 

A recent article in Bandwagon declaring 2024 “A Year of Revival for the American Circus,” works overtime to include anything that incorporates circus acts, either at the center, or in the shadows of experimental. The writer, Rodney A. Huey, is remarkably charitable in admitting into his feel-good survey practically anything that drops or alludes to the C word at the ballyhoo — and even some, like 7 Fingers, that technically don’t. But then, neither does New Ringlng.  

In olden golden days gone by when circus was circus, big tops awesome and little tops charming joined the April parade of gilded caravans down sawdust trails, throwing up fresh white canvas, sending giddy banners galloping gaily into  the wind. Red wagons convened onto open fields where canvas was spread, laced up, and raised skyward. And a magic city was born.  A city of amazing acrobats and animals, rowdy clowns and blazing spectacle.  Bring it back, you know who!

 Cirque Ma'Ceo

 

Being there in the middle of it all was a unique sensation.  We went in guilt-free, no pickets at the marque shaming what we were about to be thrilled by, and came out hopelessly addicted to the likes of Francis Brunn, the Cristianis, La Norma ...  

 Cirque Paranormal promises vampires and creepy clowns

And once upon a better season, they all gave you a circus, period, and you know exactly what I am talking about    At one time in this hyper competitive nation, even the smallest shows laid claim to three rings.  

Now today, a show may rig its aerial trappings from the wings of a theater, spot the props in public parks or on cruise ships, even at concert halls, purpose being to draw some kind of a crowd.  These specialized adventures are what some call boutique circuses.

Le Grand Cirque

 

Seven Fingers Passagers 

Full menu circus sill thrives in  Russia and parts of Europe.  Italy still loves the animals, and the Monte Carlo Circus Festival still celebrates the best of them with Gold Clowns.  In the  UK, all but two or three shows are now all-human. A few circuses stateside (Culpepper, Hanneford,  Loomis) still dare to feature exotics.  Some take a middle road with domestics, like  Zoppe Family Circus, which does not draw protesters to its collaboration with dogs and horses.  

 Cirque Ma'Ceo

Among the animal-free  shows, some can’t resist parading the banned in the safer, more cowardly form of costumed performers ---or bots.  Ringling’s insertion of a small robotic, mutt, conveys a promising insecurity at the top.

Here is where the Bandwagon story rumbles down the runs and then, instead of heading for an open field, chases a wide-ranging array of amusements (cerebral to carnal) that use circus primarily as a draw. Huey  brings on  the word “fusion’ in order to grant these entities the making of a grand revival. But the word feels like a strained euphemism in order to cast a wider net for triumphal image-building.    

In fact, “circus” as we have known it, was invented in an act of fusion, when London horse rider  Philip Astley added rope walkers, clowns and acrobats to his equestrian exhibitions in an open field.

Cirque Kalabante

Huey places the new Ringling acrobatic show at the center of it all, reporting on its “resounding success” (his source, Feld Entertainment) The article was published before New Ringling shut down to spend the greater part of a year planning its next edition. Given the near impossibility of our ever knowing what sort of business Ringling actually did, there is the rather bleak image of angry Yelp Reviews, averaging 1.5 stars, and of Reddit threads revealing skimpy crowds, i.e. "Recent tour stops seem to be struggling to get people in the door, especially for evening shows."  I find this plausible given a call I made to  the 20,000 seat Crypto.Com arena in L.A, where the show played, and was told that the average attendance had been between six and eight thousand per show. Like all the fan magazines, in this instance, Bandwagon can’t bring itself to function beyond a press release.

In the meantime, what I mostly see is circus a la Carte, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It gives you more options to consider.  Hard core circus fans prove themselves to be, at least in public posturing and feel-good reviews, quite willing to gratefully embrace what still parades as a circus

It could be worse, I suppose.  The insane rise of AI will not doubt one day bring about the first  virtual circus show. Are you ready? Don’t throw away your tapes and movies just yet. And stay tuned to dog-loving America’s Got Talent on TV. First episodes usually push circus acts. Wonder why?  
 

 Old Ringing, 2017