What are the dangers of artificial intelligence in our brave new world of self-driving cars?

Like paper, print, steel and the wheel, computer-generated artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology that can bend how we work, play and love. It is already doing so in ways we can and cannot perceive. As Facebook, Apple and Google pour billions into A.I. development, there is a fledgling branch of academic ethical study--influenced by Catholic social teaching and encompassing thinkers like the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin--that aims to study its moral consequences, contain the harm it might do and push tech firms to integrate social goods like privacy and fairness into their business plans. "There are a lot of people suddenly interested in A.I. ethics because they realize they're playing with fire," says Brian Green, an A.I. ethicist at Santa Clara University. "And this is the biggest thing since fire." "There are a lot of people suddenly interested in A.I. ethics because they realize they're playing with fire. And this is the biggest thing since fire."