Council Post: Understanding What Artificial Intelligence Is, And What It's Not

So goes the classic line from HBO's dystopian television series Westworld. The show depicts the growing consciousness, and later uprising, of android "hosts" from a western-themed amusement park. The phrase is the series' proverbial safeword, the recurring host admission that they are not, to the great relief of all Westworld guests, sentient beings. Westworld is the latest addition in the Hollywood tradition of sinister robots that gain intelligence, gain consciousness and go rogue. Blade Runner, The Terminator, The Matrix, Transcendence, Ex Machina... the list is long and, for many, a clear demonstration of why the full implications of artificial intelligence (AI) might not be worth the convenience it brings.