We share the planet with an estimated 9 million robots, from self-driving cars to surgical arms. Could they one day completely replace humans?
Fifteen international agencies spend $62 billion every year on space travel. What's fueling our costly - and dangerous - drive to explore the universe?
2020 • Astronomy
In the 21st century, China has become a global economic powerhouse. Why was the rest of the world so slow to notice its rise to the top?
2020 • Economics
Plastics have transformed how we live, but progress comes at a high price: 7.8 billion tons of waste. Are plastics a miracle or a catastrophe?
2000 • Environment
Oil has brought great wealth to the Middle East and ignited major wars. Is it a blessing or a curse for the region, as well as the rest of the world?
2020 • Economics
We share the planet with an estimated 9 million robots, from self-driving cars to surgical arms. Could they one day completely replace humans?
2020 • Technology
Over 10% of the world's electricity comes from nuclear power. But with radioactive waste and the threat of nuclear meltdown, are we playing with fire?
2020 • Economics
We explore the hidden history and super science of the bicycle, encryption and energy bars.
4/10 • Incredible Inventions • 2017 • Technology
This Episode explores the hidden history and super science of the taxi cab, satellite navigation, and the lava lamp.
5/10 • Incredible Inventions • 2017 • Technology
The oceans are at the heart of the terrestrial climate machine. Without them, there is no life. However, they are subjected to significant changes: heating, acidification, pollution, a loss of biodiversity. In 2050, we will do all it takes to preserve them.
S2E1 • Dream the Future • 2018 • Technology
Special access to Tesla's record-breaking Gigafactory reveals its bold ambition to build one of the most advanced cars in the world; this cutting-edge facility is one of the world's largest, representing the frontier of engineering innovation.
S1E1 • Super Factories • 2020 • Technology
The decades following the First World War saw aircraft designers pushing the boundaries of aeronautical technology, moving the industry forward at a rapid pace. With new commercial markets opening up, it was the visionaries who held the key to success. Each invention promising a future filled with endless possibilities.
3/13 • The Amazing World Of Aviation • 2009 • Technology
Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at how we have created machines that can simulate, augment, and even outperform the human mind - and why we shouldn't let this spook us. He reveals the story of the pursuit of AI, the emergence of machine learning and the recent breakthroughs brought about by artificial neural networks. He shows how AI is not only changing our world but also challenging our very ideas of intelligence and consciousness. Along the way, we'll investigate spam filters, meet a cutting-edge chatbot, look at why a few altered pixels makes a computer think it's looking at a trombone rather than a dog and talk to Demis Hassabis, who heads DeepMind and whose stated mission is to 'solve intelligence, and then use that to solve everything else'. Stephen Hawking remarked 'AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation. Or the worst'. Jim argues that AI is a potent new tool that should enhance our lives, not replace us.
2018 • Technology