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BBC World Service and The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 present The Engineers: Intelligent Machines

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In a special public live recording for the BBC World Service at the Great Hall of Imperial College, the BBC’s Caroline Steel will present The Engineers: Intelligent Machines – in collaboration between the BBC World Service and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Intelligent machines are remaking our world. The speed of their improvement is accelerating fast and every day there are more things they can do better than us. A computer has defeated the world’s greatest human player of our most complex  game, the first movie written by AI has just been released and artificial intelligence is making major break-throughs in medicine.

There are risks, but the opportunities for society are enormous. How have intelligent machines made such innovations in such a short time? What are the limits to what AI can do?

‘Machine Learning: AI’ is the technological revolution of our era. The programme will feature three engineers at the forefront of that revolution –

  • Regina Barzilay, Distinguished Professor for AI and Health at MIT, created a major breakthrough in detecting early stage breast cancer. She also led the team that used machine learning to discover Halicin, the first new antibiotic in 30 years.
  • David Silver, Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind, led the AlphaGo team that built the AI to defeat the world’s best human player of Go.
  • Paolo Pirjanian CEO and founder of Embodied, is a pioneer in developing emotionally intelligent  robots to aid child development.

Gwenan Roberts, Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service, says: “The Engineers asks the critical questions at the forefront of science and technology. By bringing audiences trusted voices with the greatest expertise in the transformative fields of machine learning and AI, we’re looking forward to an insightful and revealing discussion on the BBC World Service.”

John Lavery, CEO, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, says: “The development of AI is one of the most exciting advances in technology in a generation and looks to become a common feature of our lives in the future.  Discussion with leading figures in this environment is the only way we will truly understand the advantages and risks of this shift in capability and I am delighted that such renowned experts are sharing their time and insight.”

The Engineers is an annual event staged by the BBC World Service in partnership with the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. The producer for the BBC is Charlie Taylor.