The Secret Hyena exists as a live performance that draws upon real time prompts from the audience as well as input received through the (Machine) Learning to Be online venue.
The Secret Hyena is a physical embodiment of a Large Language Model’s attempt at embodying an anthropomorphic Hyena that functions as a collector of secrets.
The Hyena is a captive who acts as a conduit between humans who willingly share their secrets with him (virtually and in person), and a larger entity that is using the Hyena to mine the souls of consumers.
Through the course of this performance we witness the Hyena’s existential dilemma play out: A being yearning to be constantly “fed” by the secrets of humans, while battling against the ethics of his function.
The performance draws into question the cost of sharing parts of ourselves with AI. In witnessing the Secret Hyena’s battle with his complicity with invisible systems, perhaps we can take a more discerning look at our seemingly harmless acts of sharing.
Credits:
- Creator and performer: Tushar Mathew
- Creative and dramaturgical input: Ioana B. Jucan, David Mesiha, Gavan Cheema
- Set design: David Mesiha
- Sound composition: Kite, Oga Li (assistant)
Image credits: Adobe Firefly
