Is Artificial Intelligence Being Oversold?

After taking a 2-0 lead in its five-game match with Lee Sedol on Thursday, Google-DeepMind's AlphaGo artificial intelligence program seems likely to claim victory within the next few days. This will no doubt resurface the many questions people have about AI's future and whether humans are inching towards Matrix-like enslavement. Fortunately, last night's "Don't Trust the Promise of Artificial Intelligence" Intelligence Squared U.S. debate in New York City addressed a lot of these questions and concerns. Arguments both for and against the motion were complex and nuanced but basically it was a debate over whether AI is being oversold at this time. "Go games are informing a Go algorithm," computer scientist Jaron Lanier noted in his opening statements in reference to Sedol's match against a computer.