The world of AI has leapt into focus recently, fuelled by interest in ChatGPT. Prof. Toby Walsh talks to Toby Manhire about its future, in a highlight from the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival.

Hear Toby Walsh in this highlight of the 2023 Auckland Writers Festival

There are approximately three million robots working in factories around the world, and another 30 million in people's homes. Soon robots will outnumber humans. But what happens if an autonomous AI harms or kills a person, deliberately or accidentally? It will happen. In fact, it already has.

In Machines Behaving Badly, Professor Toby Walsh - Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW Sydney, and a leading advisor to the UN on lethal autonomous weapons (aka killer robots) discusses a future where machines start to shape society in ways we are not aware of.

Described as a 'rock star of Australia's digital revolution' he explores whether robots can have rights and the issue of agency with Toby Manhire.

The session begins with an absorbing demonstration of the benefits and pitfalls of using ChatGPT to create original content.

About the speaker

Toby Walsh

Toby Walsh is a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and author of three books on AI including most recent Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI exploring the ethical challenges of AI such as autonomous weapons.

This session is broadcast thanks to the generous help of the Auckland Writers Festival held in May 2023

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details