The Car • 2019 • Breakthrough the Ideas that Changed the World

47:51

Today, virtual reality headsets are reaching the masses and can already let users dive into spectacular new worlds. From our couches, we can now float through space, fly over New York, or zip along roller coasters. But, what will it be like in the future?

S1E9 • Dream the Future • 2017 • Technology

59:52

New whistleblowers and insiders from social media companies speak out to reveal how algorithms designed to connect people have been helping to tear them apart. With new testimony and documents, they expose a machine thriving on outrage and division as part of a business model, with radicalisation, real-world violence and fractured societies some of the consequences of a system built to shape how users think, feel and see the world.

2026 • Technology

59:00

Mike Wooldridge grapples with the future of AI in the third and final Christmas lecture. Mike takes a ride in a driverless car. Autonomous vehicles, once a science fiction dream, are now a reality. Many AI researchers believe removing human drivers will eventually make our streets much safer. Mike explores how the car ‘sees' and perceives the world – and how with the help of AI, it gets better the more it drives. Although AI will create many exciting opportunities, advances in AI have raised fears – some justified, others not. With the help of expert guests, Mike talks us through some of the risks AI poses. He unpacks the very real danger of bias in AI, asking how we avoid creating AI that favours those who resemble its creators, and he explores the dangers of 'fake news' and how AI algorithms can lead to dangerous online 'echo chambers', helping to foment extreme views. Mike also demonstrates deepfake technology and asks if AI means we simply can't trust our eyes any more? The prospect of super-intelligent AI means that in the future we may be able to mobilise AI to uncover radical large-scale solutions to the biggest problems facing humanity, such as climate change. But we need to think carefully about what we want to let AI control. Could AI in charge of weapons accidentally begin wars – and present a risk to our survival? And, as AI gets ever more intelligent, how should we treat it? How does our audience feel about kicking an AI robot dog? This lecture addresses the big question of AI: can it ever truly be like us, or are humans unique? As AI advances, it seems these ethical questions are destined to get ever more complex… The Christmas Lectures are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the series. They are the world's longest running science television series, and always promise to inspire and amaze each year through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.

S1E3 • BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: The Truth about AI • 2023 • Technology

20:14

On Jan. 28, 1986, seven astronauts "slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." America's space program was never the same.

2014 • Technology

52:13

Go into the physical heart of the Internet and learn about the very first message sent by UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock.

S1E1 • Digits • 2017 • Technology

52:00

To fly an early airplane required skill, courage and a sense of adventure. The advent of the movie camera meant that their exploits could be broadcast to every corner of the globe, and recorded for posterity. The pilots of Germany, France and Britain who were able to master combat flying in time to prevent an early death were known as "Air Aces".

2/13 • The Amazing World Of Aviation • 2009 • Technology