The Trials of Atlas

In 2031, AI system Atlas stands trial for killing its creators. The audience becomes the jury and decides: guilty or not guilty.

The Trials of Atlas

By Alan Stoga

The Verdict Is Yours

It is 2031. An advanced agentic AI system named Atlas has killed the engineers who created it and now stands trial before the World Court.

Can an artificial intelligence have the motive, intent, and agency to commit murder?

In this interactive courtroom drama, judges and lawyers question Atlas, other AI systems, and human experts as they wrestle with questions of autonomy, responsibility, and accountability in a world of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence.

Then the decision belongs to you.

The audience serves as the jury. Watch the evidence. Hear the arguments. Deliver your verdict: guilty or not guilty.

What begins as a play becomes a conversation about the future relationship between humanity and AI.

Presented by

MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
MIT Music & Theater Arts
MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
Tällberg Foundation

Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Kirsch Auditorium (32-123)
32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA

Free and open to the public, advance registration is encouraged.

Please arrive early to allow time for check-in and seating. Unclaimed seats will be released 10 minutes before showtime, and late seating is not guaranteed.