We need to talk about AI! A new short-film by Futurist Gerd Leonhard: what you need to know about artificial intelligence

I am very excited about my latest short film (the others are here) outlining my views on my #1 speaking topic: humans versus/with machines, artificial intelligence and the future of humanity in a world where machines can hear, see, speak, learn and ‘think’.

On the one hand, artificial intelligence (AI) clearly has the capacity to improve our lives in pretty much every aspect, from energy to medical to smart cities; on the other end it could fundamentally change who we are as humans, and what we think of as ‘human’. It could be a great destroyer of jobs but it could also free as from unsatisfying routines (read more about this in my new book, Technology vs Humanity, now available in English, German, Spanish and Portuguese)

I think it will all come down to what I call DIGITAL ETHICS i.e. how do we use technology to our collective human benefit (i.e. embrace it but don’t become it), and how do we deal with the externalities caused by exponential technological change. Technology will have almost unlimited power in less than 20 years, at which point the key question will be WHY and WHO, not if. Do we need a global digital ethics counsel on AI, and if so, how would we realize it?

Download the MP4 file here. Re-use and even editing of this film is permitted and subject to creative commons attribution non-commercial license (like all my materials).

A big THANK-YOU to my fabulous art director and producer Jean Francois Cardella, who also heads up my film production company, StoriesFromTheFuture.tv. Thanks also to Studio Chamberlin in Sofia Antipolis (other credits are listed at the end of the film)

Go here for my latest short films on the IoT and the ‘conversations with Gerd’

SaveSave

New teaser video:)

SaveSave

Author: Gerd Leonhard

In the words of American poet John Berryman, “the possibility that has been overlooked is the future”. Most of us are far too busy coping with present challenges to explore the future in any depth – and when we do our own cravings and fears often run away with us, resulting in utopias or dystopias that are not very helpful in terms of planning and decisions. Today’s professionals, leaders and their organisations need a dedicated, passionate long-term understanding of the future if they are to successfully navigate the exponential waves of change. For countless individuals and organizations that intelligence is called Gerd Leonhard. View all posts by Gerd Leonhard