The Artificial Human
by BBC Radio 4
Latest episode
Why aren't AI companies being stopped?
Why aren't AI companies being stopped?
About this podcast
Every day, we read something new about Artificial Intelligence - it'll take our jobs, it'll teach our kids, it knows more about us than we do ourselves... but how much of that is hype, and how much is, or will be reality?
Part of our problem with AI is that it feels impenetrable and mysterious, especially when even those building it aren't entirely sure how it works.
In a new series, Aleks Krotoski (The Digital Human, Radio 4) and Kevin Fong (13 Minutes to the Moon, BBC World Service) set out to 'solve' AI. Or at the very least, to answer our questions on all things artificial intelligence-related. These are the questions that really matter to us - is AI smarter than me? Could AI make me money? Will AI save my life or make me its slave?
These questions predate the current frenzy created by the likes of Chat GPT, BARD and LlaMA. They've been in our collective psyche ever since the very first thinking machines. Now these fears and excitement are a reality. This series arrives at a critical moment.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 55 episodes
- Why aren't AI companies being stopped? · 29 minIf the risks we hear about AI are real, why aren't the companies building it being stopped? Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong investigate the power and influence amassed by a handful…
- Will AI really kill us all? · 29 minWith headlines full of apocalyptic predictions about AI, Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong ask: is this just more hype, or do these technologies pose genuine risks now and in the…
- Can the UK go it alone on AI? · 29 minWhile the United States and China dominate the global AI race, the UK sits in a distant but still significant third place, boasting the most developed AI ecosystem in Europe. The…
- Can AI be my new lab partner? · 29 minArtificial intelligence is changing many aspects of our lives, but some of its most exciting possibilities are happening in the world of science. There have been lots of…
- Are we losing control of AI? · 29 minThe hacking of Medicare in Australia was the first time an autonomous AI deliberately breached a government system, and coming just months after the same company's agents gained…
- Are Gen Z Already Over AI? · 29 minConcerns about jobs, the environment and concentrated power are driving many Gen Zers to see AI's downsides as outweighing its benefits. They're finding themsleves stuck between…
- When will robots have their Chat GPT moment? · 29 minAI startups in New York are offering free home cleaning—as long as it’s okay to have everything filmed in order to train robots. Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong ask: how far off is…
- Are we all AI hypocrites? · 29 minAleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong explore a curious contradiction: why do we bristle at AI‑generated emails and writing, even while many of us quietly rely on them ourselves? What…
- Will AI replace the people who built it? · 29 minAleks and Kevin look beyond the headlines to uncover why Silicon Valley is seeing thousands of job losses across some of its biggest tech companies, as the industry pivots…
- Can AI help us win the World Cup? · 28 minThe 2026 World Cup is just around the corner, with England and Scotland heading overseas to play for their countries. FIFA has called it the most technologically advanced…
- AI: War Machine?: 2. What's driving the military AI policy? · 29 minAleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong examine the decisions shaping the adoption of military AI in the United States and beyond, asking whether governance is keeping pace — or whether…
- AI: War Machine?: 1. Is AI transforming Warfare? · 29 minThe recent strikes in Iran were planned, executed and assessed with Ai. Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong find out how Ai is transforming war and asking is the human still…
- Is AI the future of learning? · 30 minAs part of the BBC's AI Unpacked week Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong join an audience of pupils, teachers and education experts to ask if artificial intelligence is the future of…
- Are Large Language Models a Dead End? · 29 minChat GPT, Gemini etc are most people's idea of artificial intelligence. But are the limitations of the large language models (LLMs) that underpin them an obstacle to achieving Ai…
- Is AI killing Search? · 30 minAleks and Kevin look at how Ai chatbots and summaries might kill the web as we know it. When people get all the answers they want from their AI, can the sites they've scraped for…
- AI's Bubble Trouble?: 3. If the bubble bursts, where next for AI? · 29 minIn the final instalment of our AI Bubble mini-series, Aleks and Kevin take a look at what it would mean if the AI bubble were to burst - not just for the industry, but for the…
- AI's Bubble Trouble?: 2. What are the consequences of an AI economic crash? · 29 minIn part two of their exploration of the economics of Ai Aleks and Kevin ask, what are the consequences of the anticipated financial bubble bursting, and would a crash stop there?…
- AI's Bubble Trouble?: 1. Is the AI bubble about to burst? · 29 minAleks and Kevin explore the biggest story in the Ai business. Markets are growing sceptical that the eye-watering sums being invested in Ai will show a return and comparisons…
- Can AI do my Christmas shopping? · 29 minAleks and Kevin explore the world of Ai agents, artificial intelligence that can go out and act in the world on your behalf. And with festive season only weeks away, what they…
- Did AI Fuel the Charlie Kirk Rumour Mill · 29 minAleks & Kevin explore how people turned to Ai to solve Charlie Kirk's murder, enhancing grainy CCTV pictures or asking chatbots to help them investigate, but did it help or…
