What is AI, how does it work and why are some people concerned about it?

AI has increasingly become part of everyday life over the past decade.

The technology takes many forms - from personalising social media feeds to spotting friends in smartphone photos - and accelerating medical breakthroughs.

But the rise of chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted concern about the tech's environmental impact, ethical implications and data use.

Recent claims that AI could become too powerful and threaten humanity have also triggered calls for slower development and tighter regulation.

AI allows computers to process large amounts of data, identify patterns and follow detailed instructions about what to do with that information.

However, scientists have developed systems that can perform tasks which usually require human intelligence, trying to replicate how people acquire and use knowledge.

This could be trying to anticipate what product an online shopper might buy, based on previous purchases, in order to recommend items.

The technology is also behind voice-controlled virtual assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, and is being used to develop systems for self-driving cars.