Humans, Channel 4’s hit drama series told the story of a parallel-present, where we live side-by-side with highly developed artificially intelligent ‘Synth’ robots, built in our image.

But just how far away is the world we currently inhabit from the one it portrays...?

Channel 4 has commissioned a one off documentary, (1x60’) made by Little Gem, which will see Gemma Chan, who plays Mia in the critically acclaimed drama, take part in a unique experiment to create a ground-breaking robot that thinks, talks and looks just like her… But will it be real enough to convince a real human that it is actually Gemma? Or will it show us that the realms of science fact and science fiction are still further apart than we think?

In order to create the affectionately termed ‘Gemmabot’ Gemma will undergo a gruelling range of cutting edge procedures including an entire head cast to build the machine to her exact dimensions as well as 3D scanning to determine her facial speech patterns and hours of voice record recognition. Her simulated ‘brain’, body and voice, each created by individual pioneering A.I experts in their field, will then be combined to create the finished android and revealed to Gemma before she tries to convince journalists that they are interviewing her, and not in fact the Gemmabot, at a fake press junket.

As part of her journey Gemma will also venture further into the ambit of A.I and while everyday autonomous technology like Siri and online shopping apps continue to govern our lives she will be investigating progressive advances, such as driverless cars and breakthrough medical procedures, which are on the cusp of infiltrating them too.

Along the way she will be meeting many of the most renowned names in the business and the greatest minds of our generation, including Demis Hassibis, the founder of DeepMind, (bought by Google) who sit on both sides of the moral and ethical artificial intelligence debate. Is it a safe and full proof path to a bright and booming future? Or by pushing machinery that can eradicate many of our most human reasons for being are we sleep walking towards a dangerous threat to our very existence?

How to Build a Human was commissioned by Specialist Factual Commissioner Sara Ramsden. The 1X60’ documentary will TX later this month, it will be made by Little Gem (Frontline Doctors: Winter Migrant Crisis), executive produced by Ben Gale, line produced by Emily Wood and directed by Stephen Mizelas.

Tom Porter, Acting Commissioning Editor, Science, says; “This film pushes the boundaries of what is possible using the technology that is increasingly influential in our lives. Gemma brings a unique perspective to the subject and it’s incredibly exciting for us to have her at the heart of this ground-breaking project.”

Notes to Editors - The Gemmabot will be made by a team composed of the leading global A.I experts, designers and special effects companies including Millenium FX, Acapela Group, Brillig Understanding and Engineered Arts.