Opinion

The question has arisen with escalating frequency in recent years, a sort of journalistic thought bubble emerging from the collective consciousness of writers. Will artificial intelligence (AI) save humanity, or supplant us? On the one hand, we are told that AI holds the potential to solve some of the world's biggest problems -- challenges like poverty, food insecurity, inequality and climate change. On the other hand, some very smart people have issued warnings. Stephen Hawking said the technology could "spell the end of the human race."