Theatre was the original thinking machine

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“All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter,” said one of three witches to Macbeth, prophesying his ascension to kingship. This prediction would set in motion a tragic chain of events that would define one of Shakespeare’s most famous and darkest plays: Macbeth. 

As leaders and managers reckon with the impacts of AI, stage actors reciting 400-year-old poetry hardly seem to reflect the current moment. But professors Laurette Dubé and Paul Yachnin, both of McGill University, think otherwise.

“Human beings have been inventing thinking machines for thousands of years,” said Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, on the McGill Delve podcast. “And I think the first thinking machine is theatre.”

That’s why they’re bringing together experts from across disciplines at the event Thinking inside Macbeth on January 28, 2026. Artists, actors, and professors from across disciplines will together explore Macbeth’s complex ideas and what they mean in a modern context.

“We all know the central place of AI in remaking human-made systems,” said Dubé, Professor Emerita in Consumer Psychology. “If we are to keep humans at the centre of this development, we need to bring the arts and humanities to tackle the messiness of us as human beings.”

Thinking inside Macbeth

For the uninitiated – or if it’s been a while since you last engaged with Shakespeare – Macbeth is a story riddled with political violence, complex gender dynamics, and tragic irony. Three witches convince Macbeth, a celebrated warrior, that he is destined to be King of Scotland. So, with encouragement from his wife Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan (his cousin). He also orders the death of his friend’s wife and son. Macbeth’s actions result in intense personal guilt, shame, and paranoia, and set off a chain of events that end with his beheading.

If theatre is a thinking machine, what does Macbeth think about the world today?

Dubé, Yachnin, and their guests will explore this idea in depth at their event on January 28. But they gave us a bit of a preview on the McGill Delve podcast.

On the one hand, Macbeth exposes the consequences of unchecked ambition, toxic masculinity, and unresolved trauma. Macbeth is a warrior, and just returned from a battle in which he was celebrated for his brutality, explained Yachnin. But he’s not without honour. When the opportunity arrives to murder King Duncan, Macbeth is split to his core. He wants to be King, but he’s reticent about killing his cousin.

But in an environment that celebrates toxic masculinity, Macbeth’s wife needed only appeal to his manhood to convince him to go through with it. Toxic masculinity refers to harmful beliefs and expectations about how men should behave, such as by expressing themselves through violence and suppressing their emotions. In the play, Lady Macbeth berates her husband for succumbing to emotion, encouraging him to “be a man” and commit the deed.

The dynamic between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth echoes contemporary debates around masculinity, gender roles, and the rise of the “manosphere,” where men and boys online are often encouraged to redirect their emotional struggles into misogyny and other harmful behaviours, rather than practicing self-reflection and learning to live with their emotions.

Macbeth succumbs to toxic masculinity, letting his ambition and warrior upbringing dictate his actions, resulting in severe consequences. He betrayed his own values, committed murder and infanticide, and destabilized his country. It’s an allegory for what happens when conscience is sacrificed for power.

Across the great divides

Toxic masculinity in Macbeth is just one possible reading of the play – an attempt to think with theatre and understand an important modern day challenge. The story contains many more relevant lessons, which Dubé and Yachnin explore on the McGill Delve podcast, and will discuss in more depth on January 28.

But for now, it’s worth highlighting what is perhaps Macbeth’s greatest lesson: the importance of education. Macbeth is a warrior. He is steeped in violence. Had he been exposed to different ideas throughout his life, he might have opted not to commit these heinous acts, said Yachnin. He would have been more aware of the alternate ways forward.

This is an important lesson for anyone aspiring to leadership, said Yachnin.

“Anybody who is doing a degree in management, or is seeking a career in business, needs to come to our side of campus,” he said, referring to the arts and humanities. “Just as we need to come to your side of the campus.”

This cross-pollination of ideas is a central tenet of Dubé’s life-long work on convergence. It’s about bringing together diverse people and ideas to tackle a problem. And for this to work effectively, she calls on experts everywhere to do more than diagnose. Instead, she prefers a solutions-oriented approach.

“It’s easy to say that everything is dark, but how do you pull some light, and scale up the light?”

For that, we’ll need everyone at the table.

What other management lessons are contained in Macbeth? The conversation continues on the McGill Delve podcast. Listen here or search “McGill Delve” wherever you download podcasts.