Amanpour and Company

>>> WELL, IN THE SPIRIT OF WINS AND REFLECTIONS, 2022 HAS BEEN A GROUNDBREAKING YEAR FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FROM LIFE-SAVING VACCINES TO ESSAY WRITING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. STAFF WRITER AT "THE ATLANTIC" DEREK THOMPSON DETAILS THESE EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS IN HIS RECENT ARM. AND HE JOINED HARI SREENIVASAN TO DISCUSS HOW OUR FUTURES CAN BENEFIT FROM THEM. >> THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WHY DO THIS LIST? WHY DO THIS SORT OF BREAKTHROUGH OF TECH? WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT IT? >> I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE JUST EXTRAORDINARILY QUICKLY WE ARE PUSHING THE FRONTIER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND I WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO STORIES THAT ARE POSITIVE AND LONG AND THE LONG ARC OF TECHNOLOGY IS INTERESTING. THERE ARE A LOT OF HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPENED BUT THESE STORIES DON'T END. ELECTRICITY GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER. THE SOFTWARE REVOLUTION GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER. I WANT TO AS A JANUARY 5th PAY MORE ATTENTION TO STORIES THAT DON'T END AND THIS THIS WAY OF IDENTIFYING THE MOST SCIENTIFIC, MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS OF 2022 IS A GOOD WAY OF DOING THAT. >> YOU TACKLE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. WE ARE NOT NECESSARILY TALKING ABOUT THE KIND THAT TAKES OVER THE WORLD AND RUNS YOUR SPACESHIPS FOR YOU, BUT THIS WAS REALLY THE FIRST YEAR AS YOU POINT OUT THAT A LOT MORE PEOPLE GOT TO PLAY WITH AN EVOLUTIONARY STEP OF A.I. >> THAT'S RIGHT. OPEN A.I. IS ONE OF THESE EXTRAORDINARY COMPANIES WORKING ON THE FRONTIER OF A.I. AND THEY UNVEILED SOME ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY TOOLS. DALL-E 2 IS A TEXT TO IMAGE TOOL. SAY SOMETHING LIKE I WANT TO SEE A TELEVISION HOST WEARING A SPACE HELMET ON THE SURFACE OF VENUS AND THE STYLE OF VAN GOGH AND IT WILL PRODUCE THAT, WHICH IS FAIRLY EXTRAORDINARY. AND IT WILL PRODUCE SOMETIMES PRETTY WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL IMAGES. IT CAN PRODUCE SOME JANKY IMAGES AS WELL. THAT'S PART OF THE FUN. MAYBE MOST INTERESTINGLY FOR ME THIS TECHNOLOGY. GPT. GENERATIVE PRETRAINED TRANSFORMER, AND CHATGPT, A NEW PROGRAM FROM OPEN A.I., WHICH ALLOWS ME TO TALK TO OR ANYBODY TO TALK TO THIS A.I. AS IF IT'S A SUPER BRAIN DISEMBODIED CHATBOT. YOU CAN ASK IT TO SUMMARIZE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, SUMMARIZE COMPLEX MEDICAL JOURNALS, ASK IT TO DO PARODIES, WRITE ME A STORY OF A MAN FALLING DOWN THE HILL IN THE STYLE OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE AND DO THESE THINGS WITH PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY FACILITY. AND I THINK THIS ENTIRE FRONTIER IS SO INTERESTING FOR IDENTIFYING THE WAYS THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS STARTING TO RETRACE THE OUTER BOUNDS OF HUMAN CREATIVITY. >> I AM IMAGINING THIS CONVERSATION IS BEING WATCHED BY MAYBE AN EIGHTH GRADER OR A SOPHOMORE IN COLLEGE SALIVATING SAYING, OH, I HATE WRITING ESSAYS. I WOULD LOVE TO GET A GOOD HEAD START ON MY ESSAY THANKS TO CHOT. HOW DOES THIS -- WHAT ARE THE RIPPLE EFFECTS SHEER IN. >> IT'S A BIG, WONDERFUL, PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION. WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE INTEND TECHNOLOGY THAT DOES THAT WHICH WE BELIEVE TO BE IMPORTANT FOR HUMANS TO DO? WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO BE -- WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE EIGHTH GRADER WATCHING THIS TO WRITE AN ESSAY ABOUT BRAVE NEW WORLDS. BUT WHAT IF WE ARE IN A FUTURE WHERE IT'S EASIER TO SIMPLY PROMPT A CHATGPT TO WRITE THAT ESSAY FOR THE STUDENT THAT MAYBE THE STUDENT CAN ESSAY SORE MAYBE THE STUDENT CAN EDIT OR NOT EDIT BEFORE THEY TURN IT IN. THIS SOUNDS LIKE A MACHINE FOR PLAGIARISM. I GET THAT. WHAT IF THOUGH ONE OF THE IMPORTANT SKILLS OF THE NEXT GENERATION IS LEARNING HOW TO PROMPT? RESEARCH HAS CHANGED AT THE LAST 50 YEARS. USED TO BE THAT IN ORDER TO DO GREAT RESEARCH YOU HAD TO UNDERSTAND THE DEWEY DECIMAL AND GO TO A LIBRARY. NO, IT'S ABOUT SUBVARIANT-SIZING INFORMATION YOU GET ON YOUR COMPUTER BY BEING A GOOD GOOGLER. WHAT IF BEING A GOOD A.I. PROMPTER IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BEING A GOOD GOOGLER? THAT MIGHT BE A POSITIVE WAY OF REFRAMING THIS SORT OF NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCH. I THINK IT'S USEFUL TO FLIP IT TO SAY NOT ONLY IS THIS A WAY FOR STUDENTS TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK FASTER, WHAT IT'S A WAY FOR TEACHERS DO THEIR WORK FASTER. HOW FAST TO CREATE A LECTURE ABOUT "BRAVE NEW WORLD," TO CREATE AN EIGHTH OR NINTH GRADIENT CURRICULUM FOR ENGLISH. GIVE ME A LIST OF 20 BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 350 YEARS IN THE STYLE OF "BRAVE NEW WORLD" THAT YADDIE-YADDIE-YADA AND THIS A.I. DOES THAT AS WELL. I THINK WE WILL SEE A REVOLUTION ON BOTH SIDES OF EDUCATION THE NEXT FEW YEARS. >> ONE OF THE SUBTITLES YOU HAD FOR A BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY WAS THE POWER TO REVERSE DEATH KIND OF. EXPLAIN THAT. >> THIS YEAR, THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY, A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS AT YALE TOOK SOME PIGS THAT HAD BEEN DEAD FOR AN HOUR AND INJECTED THEM WITH A SUBSTANCE THAT BROUGHT THEIR HEART AND ORGANS BACK TO LIFE, CELLS JOSTLED AS IF THEY WERE ALIVE. THIS IS SPOOKY. HE KNOW THIS IS GOING TO SOUND TO A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE "FRANKENSTEIN" OR "MONKEY'S PAW" OR "PET CEMETERY," ANY NUMBER OF TERRIFYING STORIES OF THE DEAD BEING BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE IN WAYS THAT HAUNTED HUMANITY, AND SO I DON'T WANT TO GO ALL THE WIE TO SAY THIS IS CLEARLY A TECHNOLOGY THAT POINTS ONLY TO THE GOOD. IT'S ALSO RECOGNIZING THERE ARE MANY, MANY DEATHS ON BATTLEFIELDS OR IN NURSING HOMES AND HOUSES THAT ARE QUITE SUDDEN, WHETHER IT'S A SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST OR A STROKE. WHAT IF WE HAD TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, SITTING IN PEOPLE'S HOMES AT NURSING HOMES, AT HOSPITALS, ON BATTLEFIELDS THAT COULD REVERSE CERTAIN ORGAN DEATHS VERY, VERY QUICKLY. WE MIGHT BE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THAT KIND OF REVOLUTION. AND EVEN BEFORE WE GET THERE, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO KEEP ORGANS ALIVE SO THAT PEOPLE WHO NEED A LIVER, NEED A KIDNEY IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, WE SAVE THAT LIFE BECAUSE OF A TECHNOLOGY TO PRESERVE CELLULAR ACTIVITY IN THE ORGANS OF THE RECENTLY DECEASED. >> A LOT OF PEOPLE BECAME VERY AWARE OF THE RAPID PACE AT WHICH VACCINES WERE BEING DEVELOPED, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PANDEMIC. BUT THE TECHNOLOGIES UNDERNEATH THEM ARE NOW STARTING TO SHOW OFF SOME DIFFERENT USE CASES BESIDES JUST TO FIGHT COVID. WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE ADVANCES? >> IT'S REALLY EXCITING WHAT WE ARE SEEING. WE MIGHT BE IN A GOLDEN AGE OF VACCINOLOGY. IN SEPTEMBER WE GOT A MALARIA VACCINE BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY. SAW EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS FOR A FOUR-DOSE VACCINATION AGAINST MALARIA. THIS IS A DISEASE THAT KILLS VERY FEW PEOPLE IN AMERICA, BUT IT KILLS ALMOST 500,000 PEOPLE, MORE THAN 400,000 PEOPLE, EVERY SINGLE YEAR. MANY OF THEM CHILDREN. THIS STILL MIGHT BE ONE OF THE WORST SCOURGES OF THE WORLD AND IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO VACCINATE AGAINST IT THAT WOULD BE AN EXTRAORDINARY MITZVAH. WE HAVE SEEN EXPERIMENTAL VACCINES AGAINST INDIVIDUAL CANCERS. PFIZER AND MODERNA ARE WORKING ON INDIVIDUAL CANCER VACCINATIONS THE SAME WAY THAT THE mRNA VACCINES TAUGHT OUR BODY TO RECOGNIZE THE SPIKE ON THE CORONAVIRUS, THESE VACCINES WOULD GET OUR BODIES TO RECOGNIZE AND FIGHT AGAINST A BIOMARKER OF A CANCER THAT WE HAVE SO THAT WE ATTACK IT SPECIFICALLY RATHER THAN USE SOMETHING LIKE CHEMOTHERAPY TO RANSACK OUR ENTIRE BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM. AND FINALLY, EXPERIMENTAL FLU VACCINES. EVERY YEAR WHEN PEOPLE GET A FLU SHOT THEY ARE GETTING A FLU SHOT AGAINST A VERY SPECIFIC STRAIN. BUT THERE ARE 20 LINEAGES OF INFLUENZA AND WITHIN THOSE LINEAGES THERE ARE MANY STRAINS AND IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO COME UP WITH A PAN INFLUENZA VIRUS THAT REDUCES MORTALITY FOR ALL OF THOSE STRAINS, IT MEANS WE MIGHT NEVER HAVE A TERRIBLE FLU SEASON AGAIN. WE WILL HAVE NO WAY OF HAVING A SPANISH INFLUENZA. IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THE LAST PANDEMIC WAS A CORONAVIRUS. THE NEXT ONE MIGHT BE A SUPER FLU. IF WE GET AHEAD OF IT WITH THE PAN INFLUENZA VACCINE, MY GOD, WE COULD SAVE MILLIONS IF NOT TENS OF MILLIONS OF LIVES. IN ALL, JUST AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR FOR THE FRAN TIER OF VACCINES. >> YOU ALSO WRITE ABOUT A HAPPY ACCIDENT IN THE WEIGHT LOSS REVOLUTION. WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? >> IT'S INTERESTING. WE HAVE HAD DIABETES MEDICATION THAT HAD THE SIDE EFFECT OF THE PATIENTS LOSING A TON OF WEIGHT. AND AS A RESULT SOME OF THE COMPANIES THAT DEVELOP THESE DIABETES MEDICATIONS LOOKED INTO IT AND SAID, MY GOD, THIS SIDE EFFECT IS AN EFFECT AND SO WE WITH HAVE TAKEN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WAY THAT SOME DIABETES MEDICATION CAN SHIFT OUR HORMONES IN A WAY THAT IT INCREASES SATIETY, IT SLOWS THE PACE WHICH OUR STOMACHS EMPTY AND CAN BE REALLY, REALLY EFFECTIVE FOR AS AN OWE BOWSTY MEDICATION. THESE ARE DLINCAL TRIALS SHOWING THAT THESE MEDICATIONS REDUCE PEOPLE'S WEIGHT BY 15 TO 20% IN A MATTER OF MONTHS. THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE VARIOUS EFFECTS OF THE FACT THAT 40% OF AMERICANS TODAY ARE KLINCKE OBESE AND TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD IN ADVANCED COUNTRIES ARE KLINCKE OBESE AS WELL. LIKE THIS GOLDEN AGE OF VACCINES, WE MIGHT BE ENTERING A GOLDEN AGE OF OBESITY THERAPIES WHICH COULD BE REALLY WONDERFUL. >> ONE THE BIG IMAGES THAT STARTED TO MAKE ITS WAY AROUND THE WORLD WERE SOME OF THE FIRST PURSE FROM SPACE THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE. WHAT WAS INTERESTING AND SURPRISING TO YOU WHAT WE SAW? >> I THINK WHAT'S MOST THRILLING ABOUT THESE IMAGES IS THEY ARE NOT JUST THE GREATEST CAMERA ZOOM FUNCTION EVER INVENTED. THEY ARE A TIME MACHINE. THEY ARE A TIME MACHINE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO LOOK 13 BILLION IERS E YEARS IN THE PAST. IF WE HAVE ENOUGH POLAROID SNAPSHOTS OF OUR UNIVERSE 13 BILL YEARS BAG WE FLIP THROUGH THEM AND SEE A MOVIE OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THE UNIVERSE TO UNFOLD. THE OTHER THRILLING THING ABOUT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS IT'S NOT JUST THAT WE CAN SEE INTO THE DEEP PAST. WE CAN SPY ON AN EXOPLANET, SEE INTO ITS ATMOSPHERE THE SAME WAY THAT YOU GET THOSE CAMERAS ZOOM OPS WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING "STAR WARS" OR "STAR TREK," THAT SORT OF NEW SORT OF PLANET COMING INTO VIEW. WE SEE THE ATMOSPHERE AND MAYBE BE ABLE TO GUESS WHAT ARE THE GASES PRESENT, HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OURS, IF WE SEE EVIDENCE OF LIFE, DOES THAT EXPAND OUR SEVENS OF WHAT KIND OF CONDITIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR LIFE TO BEGIN. WE ARE JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND LIFE THROUGHOUT THE COSMOS, MEANING AND TIME AND MATTER AND ALL THESE BIG QUESTIONS OF HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN, WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEW THAT BUT ARE YOU HAVE TO A IMAGES FIRST. >> THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAD A PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT THAT AT THE LAWRENCE NATIONAL LABORATORIES WE CREATED THE FIRST EXPERIMENT WITH FUSION WHERE IT GENERATED MORE POWER THAN WE PUT INTO IT AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE SORT OF HOLY GRAILS. THE LEVEL THIS WAS GENERATED AND HOW MUCH POWER WENT INTO IT, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, DOESN'T MEAN IT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK. WHY WAS THIS SUCH A HUGE DEAL? >> THE DREAM OF LIMITLESS POWER HAN BEEN POPULAR WITHIN SCIENCE FOR THE LAST 70 YEARS SINCE WE HAD OUR FIRST BREAKTHROUGH. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TOWARD IT. IT IS A MASSIVE BREAKTHROUGH. BUT YOU CON TEXASLIZED IT BEAUTIFULLY. IT DOESN'T MANY YOU HAVE ACTUALLY ANYTHING FOR ANYBODY'S LIFE. WE CREATED THIS MINI SHOULD HYDROGEN BOMB IN A LAB EXTRAORDINARY AT SCALE, CHEAP ENOUGH, EFFICIENTLY ENOUGH, RELIABLY ENOUGH, COULD HELP SOLVE THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT, BUT THAT TECHNOLOGY IS NOT GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO USE TO LIGHT THEIR ROOMS AND LIGHT THEIR LIGHT BES FOR DECADES. MEANTIME, GLOBAL WARMING EXISTS. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE OPTIMISTIC AND REALISTIC. OPTIMISTIC SCENE PUSHING FORWARD THE FRONTIER AND REALISTIC THAT BY THE TIME FUSION HAS ANY CONTACT WITH OUR LIFE WE ARE CONTINUING TO CHOKE THE PLANET AND WE STILL NEED TO DO OTHER THINGS RATHER THAN JUST INVENT IN THIS SPACE. >> IT'S INTERESTING THAT ONE OF THE TYPES OF RESPONSES THAT I SAW TO THAT ANNOUNCEMENT PEOPLE WHO WERE SKEPTICAL OF WHAT SCIENCE CAN DO WERE LOOKING AT THIS AND SAYING, LOOK HOW MUCH THIS COST JUST TO GET US TO THIS POINT. SHOULDN'T WE SPEND MONEY IN THE COMING DECADES TOWARDS OTHER TYPES OF MITIGATION STRATEGIES OF WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS GOING TO IMPACT ON US? THEN PEOPLE LOOKING AT THIS AND SAYING THIS ACTUALLY THE ABSOLUTE JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY WE SHOULD SPEND MORE ON TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING LIKE THIS, RIGHT? SO YOU LOOK AT THE SAME DATA AND VERY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT TO DO WITH THAT. >> YEAH, IT'S A RORSCHACH, ABSOLUTELY. I THINK YOU COULD TELL A PARALLEL STORY WITH THE HISTORY OF THE SOLAR CELL, RIGHT, OF SOLAR TECHNOLOGY, SOLAR CELL MODERN SILICON, INVENTED IN BELL LABS IN 1954. IF YOU TRIED TO USE THOSE FIRST SILICON SOLAR CELLS TO LIGHT THE TYPICAL AMERICAN HOUSE TODAY IT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY 1 TO $2 MILLION TO LIGHT AND WARM YOUR HOUSE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR. SO $365 MILLION, THAT'S YOUR ENERGY BILL, RIGHT? YOU COULD SAY IN 1954 AND 1955, WELL, THIS TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. WE ARE SPENDING ALL THIS TIME AND USING ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW, BRAIN POWER, ALL THESE RESOURCES IN ORDER TO INVENT SOMETHING THAT ISN'T USEFUL. IT WASN'T USEFUL THEN. SINCE THE IS THE 70s THE COST OF SOLAR ENERGY IS CHEAPER THAN OIL OR GAS TO INSTALL AND USE. SO YOU NEED MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF REVOLUTIONS ON THE FULL PATH OF PROGRESS. YOU NEED BREAKTHROUGHS. THEN YOU JUST SOLVE THE PRICE PROBLEM AND YOU HAVE TO SOLVE THE RELIABILITY PROBLEM AND YOU HAVE TO SOLVE THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM AND YOU HAVE TO SOLVE THE REGULATORY PROBLEM. IT'S AN OBSTACLE COURSE. THERE ARE A BUNCH OF HURDLES TO OVERCOME. IT'S OKAY TO BE HAPPY THAT YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE FIRST HURDLE AND SAY THERE IS MORE TO COME, NOW WE HAVE TO SOLVE THE NEXT PROBLEM. >> THERE IS IDEAS AND THEN THERE IS SORT OF EXECUTION. EVERY VENTURE CAN'T LIST TELLS YOU HOW DO YOU GET TO THIS MARKET. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LONG ARC OF TECHNOLOGICAL EXECUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, WE WIN NOBEL PRIZEs, RESEARCH AWARDS, WE ARE FANTASTIC AT DISCOVERING LOTS OF THINGS. YOU POINT OUT THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CATCHES AND SOMETIMES PASSES US EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T INVENT THE STUFF. >> THE U.S. IS THE GLOBAL CHAMPION OF INVENTING BUT NOT THE GLOBAL CHAMPION OF NOT BUILDING WHAT WE INVENT. WE INVENTED NUCLEAR POWER BUT CLOSED MORE THAN WE HAVE OPENED IN 20 YEARS. THE U.S. INVENTED SOLAR POW BETTER THE TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIER WENT TO ASIA AND GERMANY. THE U.S. INVENTED ELEVATORS AND SKYSCRAPERS WE HAVE A HOUSING CRISIS BECAUSE WE DON'T BUILD ENOUGH TALL APARTMENT BUILD THINGS PLAGUESES LIKE LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK CITY, BOSTON. SO WE INVENTED THE TECHNOLOGY BUT DON'T MAKE ENOUGH USE OF IT. I AM FASCINATED BY THIS DISCREPANCY. I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE THE FULL ANSWER TO WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE ANSWER TO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE IS ONE OF THE MORE IMPORTANT MYSTERIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY. WHY DOESN'T AMERICA BUILD WHAT IT INVENTS? FRANKLY, I AM STILL WORKING ON THIS ANSWER. I HAVE A COUPLE OF THEORIES. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOREGROUND INTO REALITY. WE HAVE ALL THE NOBEL PRIZEs FOR SCIENCE AND PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY. WE LEAD THE WORLD IN NOBEL PRIZEs B YOU IF THERE IS A NOBEL PRIZE FOR BUILDING OR DEPLOYING WHAT WE INVENT, WE WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD. WE HAVE A LOT OF INTERESTING BARRIERS, A LOT OF INTERESTING BIASES AGAINST BUILDING. I AM CURIOUS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THOSE ARE. >> IF YOU HAD TO PICK WHICH OF THESE BREAKTHROUGHS THAT YOU WROTE ABOUT AND RESEARCHED IS GOING TO IMPACT PEOPLE MOST DIRECTLY? >> GREAT QUESTION. I DON'T HAVE A STRONGLY CONFIDENT ANSWER. I'LL PROPOSE AN ANSWER. I THINK A.I. THE REASON IT'S A.I. IS THAT A CANCER THERAPY CAN'T WRITE AN ESSAY. BUT A SOPHISTICATED A.I. THAT WRITES AN ESSAY CAN ALSO ASSIST A VACCINEOLOGIST IN IDENTIFYING MOW HE MOLECULAR COMBINATIONS THAT CREATE THE NEXT -- A.I. MIGHT BE UPSTREAM OF EVERYTHING. IF WE ARE BUILDING FOR THE HUMAN RACE, A KIND OF SECOND DISEMBODIED BRAIN, A DISEMBODIED SUPER BRAIN THAT CAN SIT ALONGSIDE US, LIKE A LITTLE -- LIKE A LITTLE COMPANION, AND HELP US BE SUPER BRILLIANT AT ANSWERING -- AND SUPER FAST, BUT ANSWERING ALL OF THESE COMPLICATED QUESTIONS, NOT JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE THEMES OF "BRAVE NEW WORLD," BUT ACTUALLY INVENTING NEW MOLECULES AND PROTEINS AND SYNTHETIC mRNAs, WE'RE OPENING AN ENTIRELY NEW KINGDOM OF HUMAN POTENTIAL HERE. I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT. >> DEREK THOMPSON, THE ARTICLE IS BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE YEAR IN "THE ATLANTIC." THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. >> THANK YOU. >>> AND FINALLY, PARTS OF UKRAINE HAVE BEEN PLUNGED IN DARKNESS REPEATEDLY AS RUSSIA CONTINUES ITS ATTACK ON KYIV. BUT OVER THE WEEKEND A DEFIANT LIGHT TOOK HOLD IN KYIV. ON SATURDAY, A CHRISTMAS TREE DUBBED THE INVINCIBILITY TREE BY THE CITY'S MAYOR BEGAN TO SHINE. YOU SEE IT THERE. SUNDAY, THE CITY ALSO MARKED THE START OF HANUKKAH, LIGHTING WHAT KYIV CLAIMS TO BE THE TALLEST MENORAH IN EUROPE. AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT. IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT'S COMING UP ON THE SHOW EACH NIGHT, DO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT PBS.ORG/AMANPOUR. THANKS FOR WATCHING "AMANPOUR & COMPANY" ON PBS. JOIN US AGAIN TOMORROW NIGHT.