Ensuring artificial intelligence has human values--before it's too late

This may be the year when artificial intelligence transforms daily life. So said Brad Smith, president and vice chairman of Microsoft, at a Vatican-organised event on AI last week. But Smith's statement was less a prediction than a call to action: the event--attended by industry leaders and representatives of the three Abrahamic religions--sought to promote an ethical, human-centred approach to the development of AI. There is no doubt that AI poses a daunting set of operational, ethical and regulatory challenges. And addressing them will be far from straightforward.