2023 has been the breakout year of artificial intelligence. After decades of investment and improvement, the technology suddenly went mainstream.  For many, it was as though a miraculous machine was plonked in our midst.

But AI didn't come from nowhere. And it hasn't been a smooth and simple process. It's been a story rife with drama, conflict, and disagreement.

So where did it come from? Who made it? Who controls it?

Welcome to our new Science Friction series Hello AI Overlords!

Across six fascinating episodes, we'll tell you the human stories that shaped the emergence of today's AI technology over more than half a century and where we might be heading.

First episode out Wednesday 25th October

I for one welcome... Hello AI Overlords!

Artificial Intelligence has suddenly gone from the fringes of science to being everywhere. So how did we get here? And where's this all heading? In this new series of Science Friction, we're finding out.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

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Science

Behind the rise of AI there's big questions about where this technology is going.

Is it going to be super intelligent — and if that happens — is it going to kill us all?

In our final episode, we're diving into the future and unpacking the full spectrum of expert predictions, from the idea that we're on the brink of creating human-level AI, to fears that AI will make humanity extinct.

Come meet our future AI overlords.

06 | Is super-intelligent AI around the corner?

2023 was the year powerful new AI technology went mainstream, with image generators and tools like ChatGPT.

And people quickly started wondering where these advances were taking them.

This is the story of 2023 in three chapters: the first contact, the backlash that followed, and the new reality.

It's the story of actors fighting back against plans to replace them with digital clones, writers suing AI companies for stealing their words, and students figuring out how to use their new magical writing tool.

05 | The year the world woke up to AI with a bang

AI is often portrayed as being all about technology. But it is also about money and control. Because those who control AI, may control the world.

In the AI world, there are two names that keep coming up: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and its CEO, Sam Altman.

Who is Sam Altman? How did his tiny company leapfrog the tech giants and win the scramble for control of AI? And what are Altman's plans for the future?

04 | If you control AI, you control the world

When you think about a driverless car future, perhaps your mind goes to being driven around, watching movies from the backseat and drinking martinis.

For over a decade, perfect driverless cars have seemed only a few years away. But in reality, they were nowhere close.

Now, driverless cars are finally being rolled out in some cities.

But (like humans) they're crashing and causing chaos.

So are driverless cars finally here? Or is teaching a car to drive simply too difficult?

03 | The bumpy history of driverless cars and their AI brains

As ChatGPT shows us, AI can do some amazing stuff. But it does some creepy stuff as well. And it's already been responsible for locking up innocent people.

The story of how AI scanned millions of drivers licences and accused Michigan man Robert Wiliams of a crime he didn't commit.

When human biases lead to neural networks going rogue.

I for one welcome... Hello AI Overlords!

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