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The Forum: Do we Need Artificial Intelligence?

Discussion & Talk

A woman uses a mobile phone as she walks in front of an autonomous self-driving vehicle (Getty Images)

22/10/2016 GMT

Do we Need Artificial Intelligence?

BBC World Service - The Forum, Do we Need Artificial Intelligence?

How the relentless advance of computer logic is changing our world and the way we think

A revolution in artificial intelligence is transforming our lives. But how good are algorithms at making decisions about the messy, complex human world?

Look out of the window and you won’t see many robots – but the AI revolution is here. The relentless encroachment of machine-thinking into every aspect of our lives is transforming the way we think and act. Machine-learning algorithms drive our smartphones and social media - and they are increasingly present in our homes, offices, schools and hospitals. Whether driving cars, diagnosing disease or marking essays, artificial intelligence is everywhere. But how does machine-thinking compare to human thought and what are the limitations of AI? From biased training data to impenetrable black-box algorithms, Quentin Cooper and guests explore the strengths and limitations of AI. 

To discuss whether we need AI are - Zoubin Ghahramani, professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence; Lydia Nicholas, senior researcher at the British innovation foundation Nesta; Professor Kentaro Toyama of the University of Michigan, co-founder of Microsoft Research India and author of Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology.

(Photo: A woman uses a mobile phone as she walks in front of an autonomous self-driving vehicle as it is tested in a pedestrianised zone. Credit: Getty Images)

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