Intelligence, Barrat contends, not strength or speed, is the superpower that enables humans to steer the future. Scientists around the world are developing machines whose intelligence grows exponentially, and will someday dwarf our own. Have we already plunged into an unwinnable intelligence race, with the future of humanity at stake?
As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, Barrat has made a career from introducing audiences to complex ideas in engaging and provocative ways. His films have set ratings records for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, and other broadcasters in the US and Europe. Notable titles include the National Geographic Specials The Gospel of Judas (2006), Inside Jerusalem’s Holiest (2008), Herod’s Lost Tomb (2010), and The Rise of the Black Pharaohs (2014). For PBS Barrat created Spillover: Zika, Ebola and Beyond (2016) and the 90-minute feature-doc Facing Suicide (2022). In September 2024, Facing Suicide’s companion book will be printed by Penguin Random House. Barrat is currently at work on The Intelligence Explosion, an expose that shows how generative AI takes us closer to human level intelligence with mysterious and unpredictable emergent powers.