When an AI Tells a Joke: What is Humor?Why the punchline isn't the most important part.

From the show

Reflecting Humanity Through AI

Artificial intelligence can construct technically perfect jokes, but they fall flat because they miss the deeply social and physiological purpose of human laughter. While a machine can recognize patterns of incongruity, it lacks the lived experience and cultural context that gives comedy its power. We explore why we laugh not just at a joke's structure, but as a way to relieve stress, build community, and signal trust—a connection that algorithms cannot replicate.