By Miles Gilroy, Senior Print Editor
Are you interested in science? Are you a fan of comedy? Are you, like me, deeply saddened by the lack of comedic science shows out there? Well, wallow no longer, Lieven Scheire is coming to Bristol!
A science communicator from the Flemish Region of Belgium, Lieven is ‘the secret Belgian love child of Stephen Fry and Dara Ó Briain’ according to his website. Having worked as a QI elf and now hosting his own comedy shows and tours, this is clearly an accurate description of him. He studied physics at Ghent University where he also started doing stand-up and formed a sketch group with three of his friends, cementing the grounds for his mish-mash career in both comedy and science. He is now preparing to bring his hit show, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to the UK, stopping off at Bristol’s Redgrave Theatre on March 15th.
I sat down with Lieven to find out what we can expect from his show, and who it is actually for.
What is ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (Lieven’s show, not AI itself)?
As the name suggests, the show is about AI, an increasingly important topic that is piquing the interest of a rapidly growing proportion of the population - a great subject for a live tour.
‘It's an entertainment show and it's an informative show [...] a mix of comedy and explanation.’
Lieven is aiming to provide a ‘basic explanation’ of AI that will enable people to ‘[take] a peek under the bonnet to see what is actually going on there.’ In an era of widespread AI usage, Lieven wants to help people ‘get a much better feel of when to trust it and when not to trust it.’
Who should go?
Great, so it’s going to teach me about AI in a funny, engaging, and applicable way. But what if I don’t have any scientific experience? Surely it won’t make any sense to me.
Lieven taught me a new word: ‘kabouterwoordjes.’ Kabouters are gnome-like creatures in Dutch folklore, and 'kabouterwoordjes' are small and simple, almost childish words. 'I am not going to talk in kabouterwoordjes all the time, but I will make sure that the show is digestible to a general audience.'
That means everyone reading this article should have the baseline knowledge required to enjoy Lieven’s show, especially considering ‘an interested 12-year-old should be able to follow it.’ It is certainly not exclusive to scientists - if anything, it’s more valuable the less you know.
Why should you go?
Being intellectually accessible isn’t a stand alone reason to go out and watch a show. What makes ‘Artificial Intelligence’ worth your time?
Lieven emphasises the importance of AI as a subject to be knowledgeable on:
‘Students are in the middle of the AI revolution. Many, well, probably all students work with large language models, with ChatGPT.’
AI makes mistakes and it can be hard to know when we should listen to it. Lieven claims that even a basic understanding of the behind the scenes workings of AI gives you ‘a much better feel of when to trust it and when not to trust it.’
As students, we’re always looking for ways to make ourselves desirable to potential employers. That means being knowledgeable on things that are relevant in the modern workplace. AI is, arguably, the most relevant yet the least understood aspect of the corporate world at the moment.
‘The job market is either in the middle or past the big AI revolution, so I think it's a big advantage to really know how it works.’
Lieven Scheire
So, if you’re into comedy and have even a modicum of interest in science, watching Lieven’s show is worth considering. It will be a refreshing mix of laughs and learning that is both accessible to the public whilst remaining intriguing to the scientifically inclined. Shows like Lieven’s are a fantastic way to broaden your horizons and learn something that I can personally guarantee will be useful to you later in life, if not immediately.
At the end of our chat, Lieven told me that Bristol is ‘one of the places that [he is] most looking forward to finally seeing,’ citing that it is very similar to his home town, Ghent:
‘We're not the biggest city, we're not the smallest city, but we have a nice vibe.’
He also said ‘tell Bristol I’m coming!’
So,
Dear Bristol, Lieven is coming. Don’t miss him.
Featured image: Lieven Scheire
