Future Tense

What do ordinary Australians know about artificial intelligence? Are they hopeful or fearful about the way it's being deployed? In this program we hear about the latest public opinion research and find out how other countries are coordinating and prioritising AI development. Also, the mysterious online platform that seemed to defy Beijing’s Great Firewall and then vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Way back in 1942 science fiction writer Isaac Asimov created the Three Laws of Robotics. They were written into a short story called “Runaround”. Their influence on technological development has been significant and long lasting Now, legal academic and AI expert Frank Pasquale has expanded that list. Building on Asimov’s legacy, Professor Pasquale’s four new laws of robotics are designed to ensure that the future development of artificial intelligence is done in the interest of humanity.

Over the past two decades we’ve become increasingly sensitive to the overuse of plastic and more concerned about its environmental impact – but to what effect? According to the World Wildlife Fund, we’ve actually used more plastic since the year 2000 than in all the decades leading up to that date. And previous estimates for the amount of plastic in our oceans now appear far too conservative. Feel-good campaigns aside, the signs for the future are far from promising. As part of Radio National's The Big 20: Our Century So Far, Future Tense looks at the increasing consumption of plastic.

It’s easy to forget that the “gig economy” was once universally referred to as the “sharing economy”. So what went wrong and is it possible to bring back that original promise of flexibility, autonomy and respect?

Also, building a genuine cycling culture - the Dutch example. And how to make voice recognition technology better at understanding the voices of children.

Speculation about the future of the city centre started as soon as the world began locking down for COVID-19. Much of it has been focussed on the economics of “working from home”, but what have we learnt about urban isolation and inequality from this time of pandemic?