Genius Makers

Long dismissed as a technology of the distant future, artificial intelligence was a project once consigned to the fringes of the scientific community. Then two researchers changed everything. One was a 64-year-old computer science professor with a back problem so severe he could not drive or fly.

The other was a 36-year-old neuroscientist and chess prodigy. Though they took very different paths, together they helped catapult AI to the forefront of our daily lives and, in the process, created a business worth billions.

This is the story of that technological revolution and of the arms race it has sparked among companies that range from Google to Facebook to OpenAI. It's the story of growing international rivalry to achieve major new breakthroughs.

And it's a story that shows both the inventive best of humankind and its darker side, as advances have been counter-balanced by issues of prejudice, bias and the invasion of privacy.