This week in The Fin podcast, technology columnist John Davidson on how long it will be before AI systems are smarter than humans and whether we will survive the transition.

Further reading:

• Is ChatGPT a form of magic or the apocalypse? ChatGPT hit the headlines in November, but it’s based on technology that data scientists have been working on since the 1950s.
• Generative AI replaces crypto as tech’s latest gold rush The world’s biggest software companies - Google’s Alphabet, Microsoft, China’s Baidu, Salesforce and Meta itself - have swarmed into the space ChatGPT opened.
• How Australian workers could be left behind by AI A report commissioned by the government has warned Australia may not have enough skilled workers or computing power to capitalise on the AI revolution.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.