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Thank you for listening to this edition of Analysis, the podcast that looks at the ideas behind the news.

In this episode, Professor Jack Stilgo asks where the idea of an existential threat from artificial intelligence is being

taken seriously by governments and industry at the expense of more immediate concerns.

The idea that an out-of-control artificial intelligence could end up

destroying us all, that the development of AI is an existential risk, is a popular

theme in science fiction, but how realistic is it?

Recently it started to be taken seriously by governments around the world.

And in the most unlikely but extreme cases, there is even the risk that humanity could lose

control of AI completely.

And even the people developing the technology have sounded alarming.

Now I think we've already got things like GPT4 which know much more than us.

I'm Jack Stilgo. I'm a professor of science and technology policy at University College London.

I'm interested in what new technologies mean for society.

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