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May 11, 2026
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Molière Ex Machina: AI Co‑writes New Play at Versailles

AI Summary
Researchers at Sorbonne University used the French AI tool Le Chat to co‑author a three‑act comedy in Molière’s style, debuting at the Royal Opera, Château de Versailles. The project, dubbed “Molière Ex Machina,” blends centuries‑old satire with modern generative AI, sparking debate over AI’s role in cultural creation.

Researchers at Sorbonne University have teamed with the French AI system Le Chat to co‑write a three‑act comedy in the style of Molière, premiering at the Royal Opera, Château de Versailles. The production, titled L’Astrologue ou les Faux Présages, demonstrates a novel partnership between scholars and generative AI.

The AI‑Assisted Creation of a 17th‑Century‑Style Comedy

The Sorbonne team, including the artist collective Obvious, spent two and a half years feeding the AI with Molière’s complete works, contemporary scholarship, and period‑specific language. The AI generated drafts that were iteratively refined through roughly 20,000 exchanges between researchers, linguists, historians and the model, producing dialogue, music, costumes and scenery that critics described as “striking, almost disconcerting” and “entirely believable.”

Numbers Behind the Collaboration: Time, Exchanges, and Audience

  • Duration: 2.5 years of research and development
  • AI‑human interactions: ~20,000 iterative prompts and rewrites
  • Initial AI draft: 8 pages, deemed “not very interesting”
  • Audience size: 100 attendees, including Culture Minister Catherine Pégard

Repercussions for French Cultural Heritage and the Wider Arts Sector

The project navigates a delicate balance: while a national assembly report flags AI as both a “marvellous opportunity” and a threat to cultural professions, the play showcases a collaborative model that respects Molière’s legacy. Performed by the specialist Théâtre Molière Sorbonne, the work avoids the outrage that might accompany a purely AI‑generated piece, positioning AI as a tool that amplifies human creativity rather than replaces it.

What Lies Ahead for AI‑Generated Theatre

Plans are already underway to tour the play across France and abroad, suggesting a growing appetite for AI‑augmented productions. As AI models become more adept at absorbing vast literary corpora, we can expect further experiments that blend historic styles with contemporary themes, prompting ongoing debates about authorship, authenticity, and the future role of human playwrights in the digital age.