In this episode, James speaks to Michael Wooldridge, professor and head of computer science at the University of Oxford. He’s been an AI researcher since 1989, and has recently published ‘The Road to Conscious Machines: The Story of AI’, in which he explains why our fears for the future of AI are misplaced. During this conversation, Michael explores how our lives are changing through the use of AI, but also how he believes the technology will never be able to replicate human creativity. He began his work long before AI really became mainstream, and here he muses over those moments when it caught the public attention – receiving a call from the BBC to talk about a guy called Elon Musk, who announced that AI could spell disaster for the human race. He explains how that’s an unlikely event, and looks to calm headline fears around AI and set the record straight.