You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

Hello and welcome to London South Bank Centre.

Today, Johnny Pipps and I are here in the Purcell room,

but before long, we'll be travelling into the future

to discuss artificial intelligence

and the novel. With the rise of AI, the boundaries of creativity are shifting, and we find

ourselves on the cusp of a new literary frontier. That's right, but can AI truly harness

the essence of human storytelling? Are we destined to witness an era where novels are crafted by machines?

Or could this collaboration between human creativity and artificial intelligence

lead to an unprecedented fusion of literary brilliance?

Well said, Johnny.

Thank you. Well said yourself, Elizabeth.

Except it wasn't really else who said it,

was it? What you're doing? All right. What you actually just heard was entirely generated by

AI after a prompt through Elizabeth's smartphone and that's just small fry. We're on the brink

...