A laugh track is a pardon, permission to perceive comedic intentions. It's ok to laugh.

MASH is a sit-com television show about American doctors in the Korean War. During the first season of the series, the producers added a laugh track. The show wasn't taped in front of a live studio audience like most sitcoms. It's was taped in Malibu, California

LOL, uses militarized sonic cannon technology which sends a beam of sound at a target. Because the speaker system is used in a gallery the effect is a swirling cacophony of laughter and punchlines.