The Artificial Human

As 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 learning.Recorded at University College London in their bicentennial year, the programme asks how we can use this revolutionary tool to equip the next generation for a future where Ai will be everywhere. The panel features Alex Russell, former head teacher and co‑founder of the charity AI in Education; Professor Sonia Livingstone, social psychologist and member of the UN’s Independent International Scientific Panel on AI; and Dr Tom Chatfield, author and philosopher of technology.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong Producer: Rachael O'Neill Sound: Emma Harth and Steve Greenwood

Aleks 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 content survive if no one visits them? Sajeeda Merali of the professional publishers association discusses the challenges her members face. And the original disruptor of spreading information, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, talks about the reliance of Ai on the work of his legions of volunteer 'wikipedians' and why attribution is such an issue.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Research: Rachael O'Neill

In 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? There's massive uncertainty over whether the Ai industry can make enough money to warrant the astronomical sums being invested, making 2026 a make-or-break year for the sector in the eyes of many experts. We're joined by Dame Diane Coyle economist at the University of Cambridge to look at how far the blast radius of an Ai crash might reach. Nathanael Benjamin from the Bank of England will explain why they issue a warning over inflated Ai business valuations and explain what the bank are doing to protect the economy from any shocks. And Jerry Kaplan Silicon valley insider and expert on the social and economic impact of Ai shares his experience of booms and busts in the technology industry and his thoughts on who might be left standing should the wheels come off the Ai financial band wagon.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Researcher: Elizabeth Ann Duffy Sound: Steve Greenwood and Sarah Hockley

Aleks 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 really want to know is could it do your Christmas shopping for you?They hear from Peter Cross, ex-customer experience director at John Lewis and Waitrose, and author of Start with the Consumer, about whether an Ai could ever be your personal shopper before finding out from human-computer interaction researcher Professor Tamilla Triantoro about how far off these technologies are and will they ready before we have to brave the high street in that last minute Christmas dash.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Researchers: Rachael O'Neill & Jac Phillimore Sound: Tim Heffer

A report by the National Centre for Social research show that political orientation shapes attitudes toward AI technologies and their regulation. With people on the right more open to Ai while those on left are more sceptical. Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong explore why that might be the case and whether it has implications for how quickly people adopt Ai tools.They speak to Helen Margetts from the Oxford Internet Institute about the research and what it tells us, before exploring with Thomas Ferretti from Greenwich university what it is about is about these political ideologies that might lead people to feel that way. Finally, we hear from Jillian Fisher at University of Washington about why creating a politically neutral Ai is impossible.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Sound: Tim Heffer and Murray Collier

For years disabled and marginalised communities have fought for representation in what we see in the media. Aleks and Kevin find out if AI risks undoing all those hard-won victories.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Sound: Sean Mullervy

Haven’t had your A.I. question answered yet? We’re making up for it. Aleks and Kevin are in the hot seat for an episode dedicated to tackling the A.I. questions left in our inbox.With insights from experts, and questions from you the listener, they'll cover everything from AI verbal abuse and how AI is being used on our streets, to how it can help with your overflowing inbox, and whether AI dreams like we do.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Rachael O’Neill Researcher: Juliet Conway Sound: Sean Mullervy

Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong ask if espionage is about to be revolutionised by Ai. Around the globe intelligence agencies are getting excited about the potential of Ai. Not only in what we know its good at, crunching huge amounts of data looking for patterns but also in identifying and exploiting human weakness. Who might be turned to spy for you and how can they be manipulated. And when a spy is caught could an Ai in the interrogator’s ear help them spot telltale signs of lying by analysing micro-gestures, body temperature, perspiration?Aleks speak with ex-CIA officer Peter Warmka about how his 30 years in the field is about to be replaced artificial intelligence without the need for an Aston Martin, dinner jacket or Walther PPK.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Researcher: Juliet Conway Sound: Neva Missirian and Murray Collier

When a Norwegian man idly asked ChatGPT to tell him something about himself he was appalled to read that according to the chatbot he'd been convicted of murdering two of his children and had attempted to kill a third. Outraged, he contacted Open AI to have the information corrected only to discover that because of how these large language models work its difficult if not impossible to change it. He's now taking legal action with the help of digital civil rights advocate. Its an extreme example of Large Language Model's propensity to hallucinate and confabulate, ie make stuff up based on what its training data suggests the most likely combination of words, however far from reality that might be.Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong find out exactly what your rights are and whether GDPR (general data protection regulations) are really fit for purpose in the age of genertive AI.Presenters: Aleks Korotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Researcher: Jac Phillimore Sound: Gav Murchie

Aleks and Kevin step into the world of actors “banking” their voices for use after death. With the help of AI your favourite actor can continue to appear on screen for years after they've gone. But what does that really mean? What’s a performance without the actor behind it? Benjamin Field is the producer behind the AI Sir Michael Parkinson podcast, where the late interviewer talks to new guests thanks to AI technology. Benjamin explains how the technology works, and the ethical concerns that it poses. Plus he describes how he sees the technology as a way to create more work for actors. Impressionist Alistair McGowan has portrayed everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to John Major to Boris Johnson. He explains that a voice is more than sound waves, but about soul, character and personal strength. Can those elements be replicated by AI? And do we want them to be? Produced by Emily Esson Researched by Juliet Conway A BBC Audio Scotland production.

Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong explore our fears around AI, where they come from andwhether we're worrying about the right things?Listener Paul asks 'if AI gets so smart wouldn't it realise it was a threat to society and switch itself off?' Its the stuff of Sci-fi fantasy, an artificial intelligence that gets so smart it decides it doesn't need humanity anymore. But if AI were ever to get that powerful and for many its a very big 'if' why would it want to do that? Kevin and Aleks speak to Dr Kanta Dihal who researches the stories we tell ourselves about technology and ask her why they seem to have become increasingly apocalyptic.Do these far-flung futures distract us from much more immediate problems with AI and is that their purpose? Professor Michael Rovatsos explains the issues AI raises today and what’s being done counter them.Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Sound: Sue Maillot & Sean Mullervy

You don’t need to be a diehard gamer to realise video games have long been used as a yard stick to measure how far technology has come. From Pong and Space Invaders, right the way to Minecraft and Fallout, as the technology has advanced, so have the games. Pushing new boundaries and creating previously unimaginable worlds and experiences. But how will AI revolutionise the world of gaming itself, both for those who develop games and those who play them? Are we on the cusp of a huge leap forward? Or are the changes on the horizon more evolutionary than revolutionary?Aleks and Kevin chat to one man who has been using AI to develop his own game from scratch, and hear from an industry insider about what the big companies are doing, and why advances in gaming may not be as dramatic as you might expect. Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong Producer: Emily Esson and Elizabeth Ann Duffy Mixed by: Sean Mullervy

Of all the jobs artificial intelligence might replace surely trading in stocks and shares is at the top of the list. Aleks and Kevin find out it might have already happened.The first algorithms hit the trading floors nearly 30 years ago and since then the numbers of people involved in the buying and selling of shares has been dwindling. Aleks and Kevin speaking professor Dave Cliffe who wrote one of those first trading programmes. He was told the future of trading was a computer, a dog and a man. The computer would do the trading, the dog would guard the computer and the man, well he was there to feed the dog.So how close are we to that future, closer than you think. But what does that mean for volatility in financial markets with AI’s well documented imperfect view of the world and is there still a place for human insight and perspective?Presenters: Aleks Krotoski & Kevin Fong Producer: Peter McManus Mixed by: Fraser Jackson