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Replacing human brawn with machinery has provided us with surpluses of food and goods, greater safety and, for many people, more leisure time. But what happens when machines eclipse us in brain power as well? This insightful video essay from the podcaster and commentator CGP Grey explains the existential threat intelligent robots pose to the human workforce, and why even the most intelligent, specialised and creative among us aren’t safe from being rendered obsolete.
Video by CGP Grey
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Gender
A catchy tune explains the world’s ‘isms’ – according to your mum doing the laundry
5 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators
8 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
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Making
Forging a cello from pieces of wood demands its own form of virtuosity
27 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Physics
Is it possible to design a shape to roll along any fixed path?
4 minutes