With over 4 million views on ARTE, "Smart New World - The AI Race" became one of the most-watched documentaries of 2024. In the very year AI emerged as a defining issue of our time – not just as a tech innovation, but as a geopolitical and security concern – we were on the ground, where it mattered most.
From Silicon Valley to Brussels to Beijing, we followed key players in the global AI race: founders, policymakers, strategists, visionaries. This film doesn't just map the power dynamics of the 21st century – it tells the deeply human stories behind them. Who are the people shaping our future? What does it take to be “the German Sam Altman”? What’s really being decided behind closed doors in politics and industry?
"Smart New World" brings a human lens to a highly technical topic. We explore the pressure on young entrepreneurs suddenly thrust into the global spotlight, and how they cope with the responsibility of building technology that could transform – or destabilize – society.
We spoke to some of the world’s leading thinkers on AI: physicist Max Tegmark (MIT, Future of Life Institute), Marietje Schaake (Director at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center), and bestselling Chinese sci-fi author Chen Qiufan, whose stories blur the line between fiction and foresight.
Filmed across three continents and streamed around the globe – "Smart New World" offers rare access, real stories, and a critical look at the race to shape tomorrow.
Director
Dominik Bretsch
Authors
Dominik Bretsch, Simon Hufeisen
Format
90min
Client
ARTE/RBB, SWR, Deutsche Welle
