Maybe We Already Have Runaway Machines

Most of us aren't quite sure how we're supposed to feel about the dramatic improvement of machine capabilities--the class of tools and techniques we've collectively labelled, in shorthand, artificial intelligence. Some people can barely contain their excitement. Others are, to put it mildly, alarmed. What proponents of either extreme have in common is the conviction that the rise of A.I. will represent a radical discontinuity in human history--an event for which we have no relevant context or basis of comparison. If this is likely to be the case, nothing will have prepared us to assimilate its promise or to fortify ourselves against the worst outcomes.