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Smart New World - The AI Race

February 23, 2024

The race for supremacy in the age of artificial intelligence has begun. China, the USA and Europe are vying for the top spot. So are individual tech companies and start-ups.

Dokumentation | Schlaue Neue Welt - Das KI-Wettrennen
Image: rbb/Arte/SWR/DW

Who will determine which technologies will shape the future of humanity?

Image: rbb/Arte/SWR/DW

The documentary follows key figures from the tech industry, science and politics who are working on artificial intelligence around the globe. They are tasked with making far-reaching decisions within a very short space of time. How can the technology’s potential be harnessed, while preventing a science fiction dystopia? The potential benefits of the currently emerging super-infrastructure are as limitless as its existential dangers. The latter include disinformation and election manipulation, as well as new forms of warfare and surveillance. 

 

 

Image: rbb/Arte/SWR/DW

The film focuses on three entrepreneurs whose start-ups are among the top players in the field of generative AI: Jonas Andrulis from Aleph Alpha (Germany), Thomas Wolf from the open-source platform Hugging Face (France) and Han Xiao from Jina.ai (China). Director Dominik Bretsch follows the three AI pioneers over the course of a year, from the spring of 2023, when the technology first became a mass phenomenon, to the turbulence surrounding OpenAI. 

 

 

 

Image: Taidgh Barron/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture alliance

For the three of them, it's all about capital, influence and economic survival in a fast-paced and mercilessly competitive world that’s changing more rapidly than any other. China has set itself the goal of dominating the technology worldwide. The USA wants to prevent exactly that. And Europe - caught between the two competing superpowers - must find its own way: those who lose out now won’t get a second chance. The film provides insights behind the scenes in the tech world and introduces the people behind the technological revolution.

 

Broadcasting Hours: 

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SAT 16.03.2024 – 10:30 UTC
SAT 16.03.2024 – 21:30 UTC
SUN 17.03.2024 – 04:30 UTC

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