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Every day, it seems,

Every day it seems

there's a new, bewildering or frightening story

there's a new bewildering or frightening story

about AI in the news - how it's going to steal our jobs,

about AI in the news how it's going to steal our jobs

spread internet fakery on a colossal scale

and generally take over the world.

and generally take over the world

But what exactly is AI - artificial intelligence -

But what exactly is AI artificial intelligence

and are the scare stories even true?

and are the scare stories even true

So, the first thing to know is that AI has been around

So the first thing to know is that AI has been around

a lot longer than you might think.

a lot longer than you might think

Its roots lie in an idea known as an "artificial neural network"

Its roots lie in an idea known as an artificial neural network

from the 1940s.

from the 1940s

A neural network is a bit like a team of interconnected workers

that learn to solve problems.

that learn to solve problems

Each time they come up with a possible solution, it's marked.

Each time they come up with a possible solution it's marked

If there is room for improvement,

If there is room for improvement

they adjust and change their connections.

they adjust and change their connections

Over time the network becomes more efficient.

Over time the network becomes more efficient

And technology powered by neural networks is all around us right now.

And technology powered by neural networks is all around us right now

It suggests movies and music we might like.

It suggests movies and music we might like

It recognises faces and objects when taking photos on smartphones,

It recognises faces and objects when taking photos on smartphones

enabling features like facial recognition.

enabling features like facial recognition

It's heavily used by social media platforms to personalise our feeds.

It's heavily used by social media platforms to personalise our feeds

More recently, a form of AI known as "generative AI"

More recently a form of AI known as generative AI

is powering applications that can seemingly create new data.

is powering applications that can seemingly create new data

It can also power chatbots like Open AI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard,

It can also power chatbots like Open AI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard

which give humanlike responses to questions.

which give humanlike responses to questions

These are getting better at interacting with us,

These are getting better at interacting with us

and seemingly more humanlike.

and seemingly more humanlike

This can seem scary, but it's worth knowing point two.

This can seem scary but it's worth knowing point two

If you ask ChatGPT a question like this one -

If you ask ChatGPT a question like this one

"Why should we be concerned about AI?" -

Why should we be concerned about AI

it does a pretty good job of providing a response

that appears logical.

that appears logical

And with that convincing humanlike response,

And with that convincing humanlike response

it's easy for us to believe it understands what it's saying,

it's easy for us to believe it understands what it's saying

that it has feelings and motivations.

that it has feelings and motivations

It's understandable that we do this,

It's understandable that we do this

but it's worth remembering, right now AI can't think or feel,

but it's worth remembering right now AI can't think or feel

can't love or hate.

can't love or hate

ChatGPT and its counterparts

are sophisticated sentence completion apps

that analyse our patterns of communication

and provide responses similar to the way humans would typically reply.

and provide responses similar to the way humans would typically reply

A bit like a "talking" parrot.

A bit like a talking parrot

Which leads us to point number three.

Which leads us to point number three

Chatbots can have an awkward relationship with the truth,

Chatbots can have an awkward relationship with the truth

technically known as "AI hallucinations".

technically known as AI hallucinations

You could also describe it as "making stuff up".

You could also describe it as making stuff up

The core of the technology is a model that uses probability

to predict the next word, sentence or paragraph.

to predict the next word sentence or paragraph

It can generate seemingly plausible replies, but lacks the ability

It can generate seemingly plausible replies but lacks the ability

to assess truthfulness or the accuracy of its responses.

to assess truthfulness or the accuracy of its responses

So anyone thinking of using chatbots to write content

needs to be careful

they're not incorporating credible-sounding BS

that can be easily spotted by someone

who's actually done the research.

who's actually done the research

The idea of a racist machine might seem far-fetched.

The idea of a racist machine might seem far-fetched

But if AI is trained on data that's racist, biased or hateful,

But if AI is trained on data that's racist biased or hateful

then its output will be too.

then its output will be too

As we all know, racism, bias and hateful content can be found

As we all know racism bias and hateful content can be found

in abundance online.

in abundance online

In 2016, Microsoft launched an experimental chatbot called Tay,

In 2016 Microsoft launched an experimental chatbot called Tay

but quickly pulled the plug

after it made racist and offensive remarks.

after it made racist and offensive remarks

It learnt to do this from interacting with users

on social media.

on social media

Microsoft apologised

and promised to implement improved safety features in future.

and promised to implement improved safety features in future

This is why the ethical framework that governs any AI application

is incredibly important, and why many are calling for safeguards

is incredibly important and why many are calling for safeguards

to prevent bias and hate speech to be built into AI systems.

to prevent bias and hate speech to be built into AI systems

For all the notes of caution, it can be easy to forget

For all the notes of caution it can be easy to forget

there's many potential benefits to AI.

there's many potential benefits to AI

It's set to truly revolutionise healthcare.

It's set to truly revolutionise healthcare

AI has already discovered new drugs

and is being used to identify cancer cells

much more reliably than humans.

much more reliably than humans

And AI chatbots can behave like patient teachers

when we struggle to understand a complex topic,

when we struggle to understand a complex topic

summarising huge volumes of information for us.

summarising huge volumes of information for us

The AI revolution has the potential to enhance and speed up work

in many fields, from software programming, to animation,

in many fields from software programming to animation

to law enforcement and journalism.

to law enforcement and journalism

This has pluses and minuses, of course,

This has pluses and minuses of course

but could this extra capacity free us up to do other things?

but could this extra capacity free us up to do other things

Like tackling climate change

or looking after ourselves and each other better?

or looking after ourselves and each other better

As AI advances, governments and regulators will of course

As AI advances governments and regulators will of course

need to make sure it's being used ethically and legally -

need to make sure it's being used ethically and legally

no easy feat.

no easy feat

But will AI take over the world?

But will AI take over the world

Don't forget, AI is a tool,

Don't forget AI is a tool

and even a powerful tool can't take over the world on its own.

and even a powerful tool can't take over the world on its own

It's up to us to decide how we use it -

It's up to us to decide how we use it

or even if we should use it at all.

or even if we should use it at all

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