Robotic Stand-up Comedy project explores the development of AI-powered robots capable of performing live stand-up comedy and comedic improvisation while adapting their humour to diverse social and cultural contexts. Comedy takes profoundly different forms across cultures, and the project investigates a range of comedic traditions, from the solo observational style of Western stand-up to Manzai, the traditional Japanese duo comedy in which two performers exchange rapid-fire dialogue built on misunderstandings and contrasting personalities. Drawing on comedic personality design, multimodal expressiveness, and cultural adaptation, the project examines how robots can deliver scripted routines as well as improvise responsively with audiences, and how humour functions as a social tool in human-robot interaction.

Carried out by an international team of researchers and artists in London and Tokyo, the project combines an experimental approach with rigorous academic study. The work has been developed and evaluated through live performances, including culturally distinct robotic personas performing for real audiences, with audience laughter and engagement analysed to compare how different comedic identities are received across cultures. Beyond entertainment, the project addresses the challenge of AI alignment in creative and social settings: how improvised robotic humour, often generated by large language models, can be personalised and ethically aligned so that it remains funny without crossing social boundaries. Presented at international academic conferences as well as on live performance stages, this research demonstrates the potential of creative robotics for inclusive, ethical, context-aware communication and expands the role of robots in artistic and social spaces.

– Papers:

• M. Wong Kam , H. Samani, S. Akhond, C. Premachandra, & V. Lalioti (2026) Laughing across cultures: culturally sensitive robotic stand-up comedian with multimodal expressiveness. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media. Paper Link
• R. Iwamoto, M. Wong Kam, H. Samani, S. Akhond, and C. Premachandra (2026) Humour at the Edge of Ethics: Personalised Alignment for Social Robot Improvisation, 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 26), London, UK, 1-4 Jul 2026.
• M. W. Kam, H. Samani, S. Akhond, C. Premachandra, V. Lalioti (2025) Culturally Sensitive Stand-up Comedian Robot, 17th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 25), Naples, Italy, 10-12 Sep 2025. Paper Link

–Culturally Sensitive Stand-up Comedian Robot performance by Michael Wong Kam during Creative Robotics Performance Stage at University of the Arts London CCI, 20 June 2025:

– Presentation of the ICSR25 paper by Michael at ICSR 2025, Naples, Italy: