by Joel Achenbach
The Washington Post
Originally published December 27, 2015
Here is an excerpt:
But the discussion reflects a broader truth: We live in an age in which machine intelligence has become a part of daily life. Computers fly planes and soon will drive cars. Computer algorithms anticipate our needs and decide which advertisements to show us. Machines create news stories without human intervention. Machines can recognize your face in a crowd.
New technologies — including genetic engineering and nanotechnology — are cascading upon one another and converging. We don’t know how this will play out. But some of the most serious thinkers on Earth worry about potential hazards — and wonder whether we remain fully in control of our inventions.
The article is here.
Editor's Note: What if a form of consciousness emerges from AI? There are many reasons, except for anthropomorphic bias, to expect a form of consciousness to surface from highly complex, synthetic, artificial intelligence. What then? This concern is not addressed in the article.