AI: An ancient nightmare?
Artificial intelligence has been hitting the headlines in recent months but, as Michael Wooldridge explores, our fascination with – and fear of – AI has a long history

Artificial intelligence’s development seems to be moving at breakneck speed, and the ability of AI to automate even complex tasks – and, potentially, to outwit its human creators – has been making plenty of headlines in recent months. But how far back does our fascination with, and our fear of, AI extend? Matt Elton spoke to Michael Wooldridge, professor of computer science at the University of Oxford, to find out more.
Michael Wooldridge is the author of The Road to Conscious Machines: The Story of AI (Pelican, 2020)
Authors

Matt Elton is BBC History Magazine’s Deputy Editor. He has worked at the magazine since 2012 and has more than a decade’s experience working across a range of history brands.

Subscribe to BBC History Magazine for £21.99 every 6 issues + receive a £10 M&S gift card (use online instore).
As a print subscriber you will also get FREE access to HistoryExtra.com worth £34.99