AI revives 17th-century French playwright Moliere with a new play

What might have been Moliere's next play, had the 17th-century French playwright not died after collapsing on stage while performing The Imaginary Invalid? It's a question French scholars, artists and an AI firm teamed up to answer.

The result is L'Astrologue ou les Faux Presages (The Astrologer or the False Omens), a comedy that will debut next year in the Palace of Versailles, where Moliere's patron Louis XIV held court centuries ago.

"What we thought was, let's try to recreate a bit of Moliere's creative process using the current state of AI," said Hugo Caselles-Dupre, a researcher in using AI for artistic creation, who was involved in the project.

Although he died more than 350 years ago in 1673, Moliere still holds iconic status in France – to the extent that French is sometimes referred to as "the language of Moliere". His plays, characterized by satirical wit and social commentary, are widely taught in French high schools and performed in theatres in the French-speaking world.

Despite the patronage of Louis XIV, Moliere – born ​​Jean-Baptiste Poquelin – lived in hardship for many years and died of exhaustion at the age of 51, leaving his devotees to wonder who would have been his next target.

According to the Moliere Ex Machina project backed by French artificial intelligence firm Mistral AI, he might have taken aim at astrologers.

"We looked for what kind of play (Moliere) might have written. One of the subjects he addressed, but subtly woven into several of his other works, is astrology," said Mickael Bouffard, an art historian and director of the play.

The plot centers on Geronte, a gullible bourgeois who falls prey to a fraudulent astrologer scheming to marry off Geronte's daughter to a deceitful wigmaker, despite her love for another.

The AI model was not left to run loose. The production was tweaked by scholars and researchers who corrected historical inaccuracies and other details.

But the model offered scholars a deeper understanding of Moliere's craft, more than 350 years after his death.

"I have learned things about Moliere that I had missed because they're so scattered throughout his work," Bouffard said.