Future Tense

<p>This is the program’s final episode and, as such, we look back over the past 17 years. What did the future look like back in 2009 when the show first aired? What have been the major trends during that time? Which...

<p>How many of the articles you see on the internet are actually written by AI, not by humans? We'll give you a figure based on the latest research. Also, why is Google moving away from its well-established...

<p>Designing a futuristic city is a fraught task — a mixture of ambition, state of the art technology, inevitable budget blowouts and the need to not just inspire, but awe. We get an update on the progress of two mega...

<p>The global Covid 19 lockdown may seem like an eternity ago, but the threat of another full-scale pandemic has never resided. Scientists warn that as the Arctic permafrost continues to melt ancient viruses and...

<p>Negotiations over a global treaty on microplastics have broken down. So, where to from here for one of the world's biggest environmental threats? We also get an update on new efforts to clean-up the cement production...

<p>It's exactly three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene. In that short period of time the process of academic assessment has been in upheaval. Across the world educators are trying to address how students should...

<p>In this programme we hear three thoughtful perspectives on the threat digital technologies pose for democracy. Henry Farrell from Johns Hopkins University argues disinformation must be tackled at a group level, not...

<p>Long before AI dominated the media hype-cycle, self-driving cars surfed the hyperbolic wave. But fully automated vehicles have now been a long time in development, long enough that we've decided it's time for an...

<p>While technology platforms increasingly dictate the way we write and converse, language is being modified to fight back, to subvert the platforms. In this show we examine the growth of "algospeak". And if you want to...

<p>We build more and more homes for growing urban populations. But doing so without providing much needed amenities doesn't serve our suburbs and the people who live in them. It risks confounding social isolation and...

<p>The remote Canadian island of Oikiqtaruk is disappearing fast, but its cultural and environmental heritage is being captured in digital form. We talk to those involved in the project about its ambition and their...

<p>Australian rooftops are resplendent with solar panels, but sustainability expert, Martin Brueckner, warns the popular notion that we're rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels is deceptive. When you add...

<p>Globalisation isn’t what it used to be thanks to the legacy of the Covid-19 lockdown and, more recently, Donald Trump’s weaponisation of tariffs. But while it’s often given a bad rap, globalisation is about more than...

<p>The European Union is implementing a groundbreaking new tax: a carbon border tax. It's meant to prevent distortions between countries with differing emissions standards and so to reduce emissions. But will it work...

<p>Existential risks to human life abound, from the threat of nuclear Armageddon; to an uninhabitable planet; or an AI-induced apocalypse. Understanding such risks and how we can best respond to them is the...