A Human-Centered Approach to the AI Revolution

In 1950, computing pioneer Alan Turing predicted that in a few decades, computers would convincingly mimic human intelligence -- a feat known as passing the Turing Test. Fast-forward to earlier this year, when a Google software engineer announced that his conversations with the company's AI-powered chatbot had convinced him that it had become "sentient." "I know a person when I talk to it," he told the Washington Post. As AI technologies such as natural language processing, machine learning, and deep learning rapidly evolve, so does the idea that they will go from imitating humans to making us obsolete: Elon Musk has warned that a superintelligent machine could "take over the world." The fantasy -- or nightmare -- that people and AI will become locked in competition is remarkably enduring.