The Life Scientific
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading computer scientists about their work in the field.
The Life Scientific
Alan Winfield on Robots
First broadcast: 21st February 2017
Duration 27:34
Alan Winfield is the only Professor of Robot Ethics in the world. He is a voice of reason amid the growing sense of unease at the pace of progress in the field of artificial intelligence. He believes that robots aren't going to take over the world - at least not any time soon. But that doesn't mean we should be complacent. Alan Winfield talks to Jim al-Khalili about how, at a young age, he delighted in taking things apart. After his degree in microelectronics and a PhD in digital communication at Hull University, he set up a software company in the mid-80s, which he ran for the best part of a decade before returning to academia. In 1993, he co-founded the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at the University of the West of England, by far the largest centre of robotics in the UK. Today, he is a leading authority, not only on robot ethics, but on the idea of swarm robotics and biologically-inspired robotics. Alan explains to Jim that what drives many of his enquiries is the deeply profound question: how can 'stuff' become intelligent.
Eben Upton on Raspberry Pi
First broadcast: 16th January 2018
Duration 27:38
Jim Al-Khalili discusses the scientific life with fellow scientists. Eben Upton tells Jim how Raspberry Pi, a computer that costs little more than a toasted sandwich, was created.