From tiny comedy clubs to sold-out theaters and arenas, ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham has spent decades traveling the world. This weekend, he brings his new tour, "Artificial Intelligence," to Boston.

Dunham explained that, "'Artificial Intelligence' is a bunch of brand new stuff that nobody's ever seen, with the characters that they love, but then at the same time, I like to throw in just a few of the greatest hits. "

Those greatest hits from his five friends, Achmed, Peanut, Bubba J, Jose Jalapeno, and Walter. Watching him perform, it's easy to forget that Dunham is the only one speaking.

He said, "It's that suspension of disbelief that makes the magic happen, because everybody knows that I'm making that dummy talk… I don't take a minute of this for granted, and if you had told me a few years ago, 20 years ago, that there was going to be a ventriloquist performing in arenas for 10,000 to 12,000 people at a time, or even 5,000 and 6,000, I'd be like, 'No, that can't happen.'"

His crowds didn't start off that large. When Dunham first took the stage, he performed at Cub Scout banquets and churches before moving to comedy clubs, where he worked for nearly 20 years.

He explained, "This teaches you how to entertain old people, young people, teenagers, blue collar, white collar. I think that there's some sort of sense of humor that I learned back then that I just kind of kept in the act, so hopefully there's a little something for everybody."

Keeping things fresh requires constant work and risk.

"I literally write every single day sitting on the tour bus. Most comedians will take their new material and try it out in a comedy club in front of 50 people to make sure it works. I live dangerously, and I don't care. I will try out new stuff in the middle of the show."

Jeff Dunham and his friends will be at the Boch Center Wang Theater on Saturday, January 17th. He'll be in Providence and Portland next month.

"I love the Wang. I love Boston. Honestly, I don't say that in every interview and in every town. I just look forward to coming to town and seeing the folks. It's always a great crowd."