Stratford tech company pairs works of Shakespeare with new AI project

WHEN you think of the work of William Shakespeare, you might not instantly pair it in the same conversation as artificial intelligence (AI).

Yet one Stratford company has brought the two together to produce “astonishing results,” according to director Peter Boswell. Peter’s company, Deep Dive Data Technologies Ltd, is based in the town he has called home for 30 years. The company’s main focus is to digest magazines for publishers across the UK, including Future Plc and Haymarket Media Group amongst others.

However, the data company had a ‘wouldn’t-it-be-cool’ moment when deciding how to use AI with the magazines they were digitising. Peter told the Herald that this led to them inputting the entire works of Shakespeare into a new AI prototype software they created.

“We’ve called the product FactKeep and we decided to ingest into it the complete works of William Shakespeare,” Peter said. “The results that we have seen, and what we are constantly seeing from that data set, is amazing. It completely makes Shakespeare accessible. It’s enhanced accessibility.

“We’ve been able to ask questions that relate to the interaction of characters, how the stories evolved, interaction between stories and what Shakespeare’s opinion would have been of certain things within his writings.

“You’re truly engaged, both with the storyline, the characters themselves and, of course, William Shakespeare, in every aspect of his writing. So, even to the point where we’ve been able to ask, ‘Can you create an image of William Shakespeare? Can you create an image of Caliban in the Tempest?’ It’s astonished us all as to exactly what you can take from that data set.”

AI is something that is being seen more and more in daily life, and Peter’s team acknowledged the importance of security to people using their software.

“The results were pretty amazing, so we decided that we’d take a much more serious look at the AI market, because AI is here and it’s not going anywhere,” Peter added. “It’s going to keep coming in all markets.

“What we noticed was that if we built something, it would have to guarantee the integrity and the security of the content for the content owner. In that respect, everything that we put into our system is secure, it’s not going to be taken by other AI companies.

“There is a lot of controversy about AI companies stealing people’s copyright, so we built a really solid, robust, secure platform that archive owners and data owners are now using to extrapolate AI-based data from their archives.

“The type of information that you’re able to pull out of that data set is pretty astonishing.

“We wanted to work with content that isn’t itself under copyright anymore, but we wanted to use data sets that would resonate with both my local community and the wider world. Shakespeare was, and is, so widely read worldwide, and I think what we have is an amazing and unique initiative.”

The Herald visited the office and saw FactKeep in action. Whilst there, we asked it two questions relating to Shakespeare. The first was, ‘How could we remove the colonial baggage from Hamlet?’ and the second was, ‘How did Stratford shape Shakespeare’s work?’

The answers to both were detailed, but essentially the AI “acknowledged the colonial mindset of the Elizabethan era and how it might have influenced Shakespeare's work” and added that “removing the colonial baggage from Hamlet is a complex but necessary endeavour that requires a thoughtful and multifaceted approach.”

It recommended “reinterpreting the play through diverse casting, sensitive direction, educational outreach, and critical analysis”.

As for Shakespeare and Stratford, the AI response pulled in examples of Shakespeare’s early life including his education and upbringing in the town. It suggested that settings and themes of rural life in plays including As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale are reminiscent of the nearby countryside. It concluded that Stratford was “more than just Shakespeare’s birthplace; it was a formative environment that shaped his world view, provided a rich cultural and educational foundation, and inspired much of his literary work”.

There was a final line which said: “Shakespeare’s enduring connection to Stratford is a testament to the profound impact that his early life and surroundings had on his creative genius.”

Peter explained that the source list provided at the bottom of the answer was not in random order, but how relatable each document was to the answer given.

He also addressed the fact not all advances in AI have been positive, but believes what his company is doing is on the right side of the story: “There’s a negative side to AI, and that shouldn’t be brushed under the carpet. There are two sides to the coin and I think we’re on the right side of that story.

“Our aim is to build resources that will have an impact in research and education.”