The Hunt for AI

For the first time in history, machines are enabling us to be the masters of intelligence, providing a tantalising glimpse of what might one day be achieved. And they’re helping us unlock the secret of what intelligence is. Professor Du Sautoy starts by meeting Watson, a computer who beat one of the smartest men in America on quiz show Jeopardy. He then meets Cleverbot – a computer that claims to be the most interesting thing to talk to on the planet. Can Clevebot convince Marcus that it is human and if it could, what would that mean?

Next, Marcus takes a closer look at what it is about human intelligence that scientists are trying to replicate. He travels to Germany where he meets two robots who are evolving their own means of communication. And after meeting a robot with a skeleton, tendons and eyes, Marcus discovers that it is the things we think are really simple that prove difficult for machines.

Finally Marcus discovers some of the weird and wonderful things that are happening in the world of artificial intelligence. He meets Painting Fool, a machine which can create original works of art, and the robots that are starting to simulate human emotions.