TechStuff Theatre Explores the Moral Quandaries of Tech - The Story
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Feb 13, 2026 Jordan Harrison, playwright of Marjorie Prime, explores grief and AI through theatrical memory tech. Matthew Libby, playwright of Data, probes Silicon Valley ethics and a Palantir‑like company. They discuss the plays' origins, moral responsibility in tech, chatbot experiments, missed internships shaping fiction, and how theatre frames technology and humanity.
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Near-Miss Internship Shaped The Play
- Matthew Libby recounts applying and interviewing for a Palantir internship while at Stanford.
- He didn’t get the internship and later used that near-miss to imagine how his life might have changed working at a powerful data company.
Cambridge Analytica As A Turning Point
- Watching the Cambridge Analytica hearings felt like a watershed moment about tech power and accountability.
- Matthew Libby used that awareness to explore how employees wrestle with corporate moral complications.
Form Conflicts With Content
- Libby wanted the play's form to conflict with its content, pairing Silicon Valley's sunny veneer with moral weight.
- He used theatrical conceits (like ping pong) to show how playfulness masks serious ethical choices.
