AI can win at poker: but as computers get smarter, who keeps tabs on their ethics?

You might not expect to find a player named Libratus around a poker table in a high-stakes game of no-limit Texas Hold'em. Yet it was Libratus – an artificial intelligence (AI) – that emerged triumphant from a gruelling 20-day tournament that culminated late last Monday in a dramatic victory over four of the world's top players. The victory – which saw Libratus pocket $1.7m in fake chips at the expense of the quartet of serious pros – stunned the generally unshockable world of poker. But more than that, it reopened the increasingly urgent debate about the potential – and possible dangers – of AI, or intelligent machines. If machines are clever enough to beat humans at a game that requires intuition, bluffing skills, intelligence as well as a capacity to retain data – then what else is possible?