Comedian and Strictly Come Dancing champion Chris McCausland has embarked on his first major BBC project since winning the glitterball trophy, a deeply personal documentary exploring how artificial intelligence could radically transform the lives of people with sight loss.
A Journey to Silicon Valley
In Seeing into the Future, McCausland, who gradually lost his sight by his early twenties, travels to the heart of Silicon Valley to investigate whether cutting-edge technology can offer him a new level of independence. The programme opens with a powerful demonstration of how far tech has already come, as McCausland uses an AI app on his iPhone to identify a navy shirt and even advise him that it needs ironing.
He contrasts this with his old method, which involved cutting labels into distinctive shapes to identify clothing by touch. This stark comparison serves as a primer for any sceptics, highlighting that for many disabled people, these innovations are not mere gadgets but genuinely life-changing tools.
Emotional Encounters with Future Tech
McCausland's journey includes a meeting with Meta's head of accessibility, where he trials the company's smart glasses. He openly discusses the feeling of being a burden when dependent on people, noting that AI doesn't seem bothered by his requests. One particularly poignant moment arises with a feature called 'live AI', which can answer real-time questions about the environment.
In a moving scene, McCausland, who claims he couldn't give a hoot about bodies of water, is visibly affected when the AI describes a plane flying across the blue sky as he looks up. This subtle display of emotion is a rare break from his typically stoic and humorous demeanour.
The exploration continues with a ride in a self-driving taxi in San Francisco, a first for McCausland who smiles from the back seat, remarking it's the first time he's ever been in a moving car alone.
Mind-Blowing Medical Potential at MIT
The documentary then shifts to Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where the potential of technology becomes truly staggering. McCausland meets engineers developing a nano-chip, a device one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair that could be injected into the bloodstream.
Engineer Deblina Sarka explains that this technology could eventually be used for brain surgery to replace the photoreceptor cells that cause McCausland's blindness. She tells him it could not only restore his vision but potentially make it superior to that of other humans.
Ever the comedian, McCausland bypasses a teary-eyed speech and instead proposes a follow-up documentary where he gets high-resolution night vision to beat you all at Laser Quest, a moment of typical wit that underscores the profound implications of the technology he's witnessing.
Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
