This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy Season 1, Episode 4 review: I believe AI is our future

You’ve seen AI in all your sci-fi movies and computer games but what do you really know about it? And how dangerous could it be? Kal Penn investigates in This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy Episode 4.

This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy Season 1, Episode 4 delved into AI. It is our future, but probably not in the way that sci-fi movies try to make out. While it could become smarter than us, it can also be stupider than us. And that’s something Kal Penn looks into.

AI isn’t what many believe it to be. Those giant, remote-controlled robots and the chatbot simulators aren’t AI. Artificial intelligence is a computer brain, something that furthers learning and solve problems, growing past the main reason humans created it for in the first place. And this is why there are many fears that AI will become dangerous and kill us all.

However, it’s very quickly explained that AI isn’t quite as we view it in sci-fi horrors. I’ll leave you to the episode to get the full details (because there’s an excellent sketch that explains AI’s method of growth through the baking of a cake) but just know that it takes time for AI to grow past the point of human intelligence.

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So, how does AI connect to the global economy? Artificial intelligence and computers are going to drive us into the next industrial revolution. And this is the point that I found fascinating. We take the creation of electricity for granted now, but this was the point that the world stopped flatlining in terms of growth and innovation.

Up until the invention of electricity, everything was done manually. Electricity didn’t just make jobs easier and create new lines of work, but it also brought the ability to build cities upwards. It brought more work and more economy to a place and populations grew.

However, there is certainly a fear that AI will take over all our jobs. There are certainly many low- and middle-class jobs that could be replaced by robots. And we’re already seeing machines taking over the workplace. Walk into your nearest fast food restaurant and you’ll see machines you can order from instead of a cashier.

This moves us onto the future of the economy and the workplace. If machines take over jobs, what does that mean for people? Where will they get money from to survive?

While we got a look at economic crashes, this brought up the discussion of the universal basic income, something that I’m sure you’ve heard of. One thing I will admit to say is I was surprised to hear that Scotland was on the list of trialing a universal basic income — I’ve lived there and still have family there and we had no idea this was happening.

I did have to do my own digging into this. It turns out — and I wish The Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy looked into this and explained it better — that Scotland is only at the start of trialing this. The Universal Basic Income plans didn’t get the go-ahead until December 2017 and are only in four areas — and as far as I know from family and friends in those four areas, the plan isn’t in motion yet.

Considering the show is all about research and facts, this was underhanded for me and it makes me wonder about how many other facts have been twisted for the sake of the program. Suddenly, my enjoyment diminished for This Giant Beast That Is the Giant Economy because of this.

While not as dull or forgettable as the second episode, this wasn’t as good as the first or third episodes. However, it was interesting and I just wished it could delve properly into facts.

What have you thought of This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy? Which episode has been your favorite so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.