Entering the Matrix

Information technology - from the cloud to generative AI, and from quantum computers to the metaverse and beyond - is changing our lives at an unprecedented pace. It can be hard to predict the future when leaps in technology are being made so frequently - and it can be easy to fear the worst about an apocalyptic tomorrow in which machines exceed human intelligence ... and human control. People have recorded information and shared it for millennia, from fireside stories and neolithic cave paintings to the handwritten word on parchment, and from the printing press to the dawn of the computer age. But at no time in history have we had the capacity to store and create so much information, nor to harness it in ways that could so radically alter our society. Healthcare and medicine are already enjoying the benefits of this technology, and the future holds boundless possibilities to improve the lives of many. But in a world where AI can already lie to you, where tech companies want your data, and where many jobs are under threat, should we also be afraid?Entering the Matrix explores the hot science around the onward march of information technology, looking at developments like driverless vehicles, smart glasses, the artificial worlds of augmented and virtual reality, and generative AI and robots, and with a clear eye examines their many benefits and the limitations of artificial 'intelligence' - cautiously pointing towards a more hopeful tomorrow.