'How's Tricks?'

Matt Ginsberg, today's constructor, is known for creating Dr. Fill, an artificial intelligence-based program that solves puzzles (you can see the doctor in action in the constructor's notes below). There is a growing thrum of A.I. in the world, and it is amazing and alarming what machines are increasingly able to do, quickly and accurately. Still, there are a lot of occupations and skills that are hard to imagine being conquered by programs. Today's puzzle concerns a type of performance that requires a human touch to pull off, not to mention an audience with the ability to experience surprise and inspiration. In a 2012 article, Dr. Fill was stymied by a puzzle with punny spoonerisms, unable to reach an AHA moment that transcends logic.