What Could Go Wrong?

Predicting a global pandemic in a hit movie was impressive. Writing a sequel that will work for today’s world might take a whole different kind of intelligence.

Join Scott Z. Burns, the acclaimed screenwriter of Contagion, as he embarks on a mind-bending quest to create a worthy follow-up to his eerily prophetic film. Reuniting with director Steven Soderbergh, members of the cast and crew, and the scientific experts who advised him on the first film, Burns also turns to an unexpected artificial intelligence. But can AI predict the source of the next global pandemic—or at least help convince a Hollywood studio to buy your movie pitch? Down the rabbit hole we go, slipping deeper and deeper into the surreal and unknown to explore if human creativity and AI could join forces.

In this deeply thoughtful, occasionally frightening, and often hilarious behind-the-scenes series, Burns assembles an extraordinary collection of minds (both skeptics and optimists) across the world of academia, the sciences, journalism, and the entertainment industry to weigh in. But Burns' most intriguing collaborators? His ever-expanding cast of AI-generated partners led by the incomparable Lexter, Scott’s extraordinarily gifted, sharp-tongued writing partner and, well ... friend. As the adventure spirals into uncharted territory, one question looms In this brave new world of human-AI collaboration, what could possibly go wrong? Listen to find out.

Listening length: 3 hours and 40 minutes.