In 2023, with support from the TUM Global Incentive Fund, a new collaboration was launched between metaLAB(at)Harvard and the TUM Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI). This partnership was designed to promote knowledge exchange and explore joint initiatives at the intersection of AI ethics and theater.
Founded in 2011 by Prof. Jeffrey Schnapp, metaLAB (at) Harvard is an experimental unit within the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. The lab explores digital arts and humanities through creative research, exhibitions and public programming. Notable projects aligned with the mission of the IEAI and the MoralPLai Project include Data Drama, The Inverted Theatre, AI Pedagogy, AI as Performer and Curatorial A(i)gents.
“Experimental approaches in general and performative approaches in particular have the potential to test the actual social effects and impacts of AI in ways that are distinctive. They move us away from the realm of speculation, polemic and debate toward the realm of lived experience, allowing us to think critically and creatively about how AI feels as well as functions.” Prof. Jeffrey Schnapp, Carl A. Pescosolido Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, Faculty Director and Founder of the metaLAB (at) Harvard, Berlin & Basel and Faculty Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.
As part of the foundation for developing the MoralPLai Project, Project Lead Dr. Franziska Poszler visited the metaLAB (at) Harvard in the spring of 2024. During her stay, she explored the lab’s diverse portfolio of research and projects. This visit laid the groundwork for a collaboration, networking and idea exchange around MoralPLai, which led Prof. Jeffrey Schnapp to become one of the project‘s partners.
The artistic outcome of the MoralPLai Project, the research-based theater performance The Third Voice, premiered on May 22, 2025, at the Amerikahaus in Munich. On June 18, 2025, Dr. Poszler shared preliminary project outcomes in her presentation entitled “The Third Voice: A Research-Based Theater Production on the Ethics of AI Chatbots” at the metaLAB Hybrid Community Meeting. This event gathered participants from metaLAB’s branches at Harvard, FU Berlin and Basel, that consisted of a global network of scholars, artists, designers and technologists who embrace experimental, cross-disciplinary approaches.
“Collaborating with metaLAB (at) Harvard brought a unique added value to the project. It created space for intellectual exchange, allowed us to draw on their experience in experimental research, and strengthened our ability to approach AI ethics not only as an abstract topic, but as something that can be felt, performed and collaboratively explored through creative practices. As we now seek ways to open a new life cycle for the project and explore potential future formats and directions, we hope this collaboration will continue to grow and evolve beyond the project’s initial phase.” Dr. Franziska Poszler, MoralPLai Project Lead
During this one-hour session, the participants had the opportunity to hear an overview of the MoralPLai Project and view video and script excerpts. The presentation ended with a Q&A, in which it was discussed how The Third Voice differs from other films and plays featuring AI narratives. The participants also explored ideas for expanding the project’s reach, including a touring production, screenings, reading workshops and publishing the script as open access.
Learn more about the MoralPLai Project.
Read Prof. Schnapp’s reflections on the core research topics of the MoralPLai Project.
View of the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts