ABOUT

The Institute For Comedic Inquiry is an experimental comedy research institute founded by Laura Allcorn. We collaborate with researchers and make it amusing for audiences to explore how complex topics like AI, surveillance, and data privacy shape society. We’re always on the comedic lookout for emerging science and technology that will shape our future.



︎︎︎ More Info




THE LATEST

We made a quiz show for the AI era about large language models called Who Wants To Write An Email?

The show premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in September 2023 and was nominated for the Technical Innovation Award

This project was many years in the making, taking shape long before ChatGPT was a thing. We’re wrapping up our project evaluation to share how humorous and unexpected forms of public engagement can draw in new audiences.

This project was funded by a Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme Grant and supported by Trinity College Dublin The Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute and ADAPT Research Centre.


︎︎︎ View the project







EXPERIMENTS

We like to ask: In the future, what absurd situations might we find ourselves in?

Then we go all out rendering them real, invite you to participate, and rehearse for the future you want. All you have to do is bring yourself.

We’ve made a mini-market about social profiling algorithms.

A workout about surveillance.

A laughter syntHAsizer about humanizing voice assistants.

And experiments about humor at large.


︎︎︎ View experiments




EVENTS

New experiments coming soon:

1. Silly Club — get ready to join

2. Laugh Crying — a research project launch


︎︎︎ View events





WORKSHOPS

We offer workshops for people with zero interest in performing comedy, but are curious about how they can apply its philosophies and methods to their work.


︎︎︎ View workshops


QUOTE OF THE MOMENT

“Without having a sense of humor to take pleasure in the incongruous or absurd, we might spend our whole lives in a perpetual state of confusion, rather than occasionally transforming those feelings into amusement. In this sense, humor is as important an evolutionary trait as intelligence, because without it we wouldn't be able to cope with the complex world we’ve created.”

- Scott Weems, HA! The Science of When We Laugh and Why


SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER












SEND US AN EMAIL

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

© Institute For Comedic Inquiry 2024. All rights reserved.