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.

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

Science Friction's latest season is: Artificial Evolution. In 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned animal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. What exactly has happened, where are we headed, and are we OK about it?

In this series, environment reporter Peter de Kruijff tells the surprising stories of genetic engineering. Meet the scientists changing the food we eat and creating animals with organs we can use. Hear about the criminal conspiracy to clone a giant sheep, and the teams bringing extinct animals back from the dead.

Artificial Evolution traces the influence of genetic technology from Dolly into the future. It’s the latest series of Science Friction, an award-winning podcast from ABC Radio National.

Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.

Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.

AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.

Society & Culture

Science

Science Friction's latest season is: Artificial Evolution. In 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned animal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. What exactly has happened, where are we headed, and are we OK about it? In this series, environment reporter Peter de Kruijff tells the surprising stories of genetic engineering. Meet the scientists changing the food we eat and creating animals with organs we can use. Hear about the criminal conspiracy to clone a giant sheep, and the teams bringing extinct animals back from the dead. Artificial Evolution traces the influence of genetic technology from Dolly into the future. It’s the latest series of Science Friction, an award-winning podcast from ABC Radio National. Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use. Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works. AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.

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

Sign up to save your podcasts

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

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

More shows like Science Friction

Big Ideas

Future Tense

The Science Show

Background Briefing

Download This Show

Short & Curly

Conversations

All In The Mind

Health Report

Life Matters - Full program podcast

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

Ladies, We Need To Talk

If You're Listening

Unravel

ABC Rewind

The World Today

ABC KIDS News Time

No Feeling Is Final

What's That Rash?

Stuff The British Stole

What The Duck?!

Quick Smart

No One Saw It Coming