![[2602.12763] "Not Human, Funnier": How Machine Identity Shapes Humor Perception in Online AI Stand-up Comedy](https://arxiv.org/static/browse/0.3.4/images/arxiv-logo-fb.png){kind=logo}
[2602.12763] "Not Human, Funnier": How Machine Identity Shapes Humor Perception in Online AI Stand-up Comedy
Summary
This article explores how AI's machine identity influences humor perception in online stand-up comedy, revealing that AI can be perceived as funnier than human-like agents.
Why It Matters
As AI technologies increasingly engage in creative domains like comedy, understanding how machine identity affects audience perception is crucial for developing more effective human-AI interactions. This research highlights the potential for AI to carve out a unique space in entertainment, challenging traditional notions of humor and identity.
Key Takeaways
- AI humor can be enhanced by leveraging machine identity.
- Studies show audiences find machine-identity-based agents funnier than traditional AI models.
- The research suggests new design approaches for AI systems in creative fields.
Computer Science > Human-Computer Interaction arXiv:2602.12763 (cs) [Submitted on 13 Feb 2026] Title:"Not Human, Funnier": How Machine Identity Shapes Humor Perception in Online AI Stand-up Comedy Authors:Xuehan Huang, Canwen Wang, Yifei Hao, Daijin Yang, Ray LC View a PDF of the paper titled "Not Human, Funnier": How Machine Identity Shapes Humor Perception in Online AI Stand-up Comedy, by Xuehan Huang and 4 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Chatbots are increasingly applied to domains previously reserved for human actors. One such domain is comedy, whereby both the general public working with ChatGPT and research-based LLM-systems have tried their hands on making humor. In formative interviews with professional comedians and video analyses of stand-up comedy in humans, we found that human performers often use their ethnic, gender, community, and demographic-based identity to enable joke-making. This suggests whether the identity of AI itself can empower AI humor generation for human audiences. We designed a machine-identity-based agent that uses its own status as AI to tell jokes in online performance format. Studies with human audiences (N=32) showed that machine-identity-based agents were seen as funnier than baseline-GPT agent. This work suggests the design of human-AI integrated systems that explicitly utilize AI as its own unique identity apart from humans. Comments: Subjects: Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) Cite...