The Hunt for AI

52:04

The failed experiment and the world's greatest crime-fighting tool. A clumsily dressed cut leads to the invention of plastics. How chance conversation and sausage poison changed the face of Hollywood. And a broken thermometer sets in motion a chain of events that frees a country from colonialism.

S1E2 • Oops, I Changed the World • 2022 • Technology

50:19

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

104:04

Gabriel Gatehouse tries to solve the biggest mystery in tech: who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? Now a multi trillion-dollar industry, its pseudonymous inventor has not been heard from since 2011. Whoever it is could be one of the richest people on the planet, and yet their identity remains unknown. Whilst on the trail for Bitcoin's inventor, Gabriel uncovers a conspiracy to end democracy and transform the world as we know it.

2025 • Technology

25:00

The development of reliable, high-powered boosters has enabled researchers to send probes to distant planets. Without these workhorses, our science would remain tied to the Earth. This episode examines a range of launchers that are integral to space research.

S1E2 • Zenith: Advances in Space Exploration • 2021 • Technology

59:02

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

50:00

For centuries, cities have been built near a fresh water supply. Without water, we'd be lucky to live three days. This most basic human need can be deadly too... the wrong supply can poison us, or get too close or careless and it can drown thousands in an instant. With every passing year, the challenge of providing water to billions of people becomes harder and harder.

S1E5 • How Cities Work • 2013 • Technology