Experts Explain: What is AI? | Computer scientist Stuart Russell | WEF

Stuart Russell is a world-leading computer scientist and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He’s also the author of the book Human Compatible. In this in-depth video interview, Professor Russell addresses our collective unease around the rise of artificial intelligence, exploring the impact on jobs and the scope of ‘general purpose’ AI, from the humble domestic thermostat to the attention-hungry bleeps and pings that keep us glued to our smartphones.

“If you nudge somebody hundreds of times a day for days on end, you can move them a long way in terms of their beliefs, their preferences, their opinions,” says Russell. “Algorithms are having a massive effect on billions of people in the world. I think we’ve given them a free pass for far too long.