Panel: AI is a recompilation engine

Is AI about to steal your job? Today, we’re tackling the messy, complicated reality of generative AI, and asking a simple question: is it actually creating anything worthwhile? Sue Turner OBE and Richard Cole from the University of Bristol, Ben Ackland from Meaning Machine, and Megan Butler from KPMG aren’t here to wax poetic about robots. They’re staring down a terrifying trend: AI is being shoved into everything, often without the right frameworks in place. The result? A tidal wave of low-quality slop and a dangerous lack of oversight. Cole says AI is a “recompilation engine”, but he does have concrete examples of AI uses that deliver something new, with significant human input. This isn’t about fearmongering. It’s about asking: who controls the tools, and how do we stop AI from turning our creative industries into a bland echo chamber? This episode is a recording of the most recent Foresight Live event. Our next event, on 6 May, will tackle AI’s cybersecurity double-edged sword. Register here and join the Foresight newsletter here to hear about future events and handpicked stories about innovation from the University of Bristol.