This year's production will be staged January 12 and 13 at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are available at this link.
The Bar Show, formerly known as "Christmas Spirits," has always taken aim at the highlights (or lowlights) of the news of the year -- but, this year, with their cybernetic Jimmy Stewart, they appear to have actually predicted the news.
Or haven't you heard?
Although Jimmy Stewart died a quarter of a century ago, in 1997, he is being resurrected, sort of, by the sleep and meditation app Calm. According to CNN, Calm has employed "Generative AI" to imitate Stewart's distinctive drawl reading a new story, "It's a Wonderful Sleep Story." It's all being done with the consent and permission of Stewart's heirs.
Both CNN and USA Today quote Stewart's daughter, Kelly Stewart Harcourt: "It's amazing what technology can do and wonderful to see Dad’s legacy live on this holiday season in new ways, like helping people find restful sleep and sweet dreams."
Here, of course, where the surviving family is on board, this innovation seems reasonable... if maybe a little creepy. But... what if there is no surviving family? What if there is no estate managing the 'talent's' afterlife affairs? Does a voice ever slip into the public domain? This seems like an appropriate use for Jimmy Stewart's voice... again, the family thinks so... but could the voice of a dead actor... or politician... or religious leader... or tyrant... be employed for less innocent, even evil, purposes?
Technology is amoral. And not at all concerned about it, either.
Just because we can do something... like find new ways to exploit the images and voices of dead celebrities... does that mean we should?
I suspect lawyers and lawmakers will be grappling with these issues long after "It's AI Wonderful Life" is forgotten entirely. But (doing my best Jimmy Stewart imitation now), doggone it, the CBA got there first. Isn't that amazing?
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