AI: More Than Robo, Less Than Magic

When sailors speak of "blue water," they anticipate taking a boat offshore, out of sight of land, and usually for an extended cruise - an adventure underwritten by a frisson of risk. Much of the chatter about artificial intelligence has the patina of blue-water thinking about it. Its promise is expansive - as broad as an ocean. There are unplumbed depths, certainly treasure and possibly danger. At the risk of overworking the metaphor, today Artificial Intelligence (AI) sits in the matrix of a perfect storm of coincidence.