The Terminator question: Scientists downplay the risks of superintelligent computers

WASHINGTON–Superintelligent computers could outsmart humans, but scientists largely dismiss any parallels to Terminator and a dystopian "rise of the machines" (much like the hapless scientists in the movies, it must be noted). The struggle between the thirst for research and the anxiety over the consequences was clear from "Are Super Intelligent Computers Really A Threat to Humanity?" a panel discussion held at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Tuesday morning. The risks of rogue machinery are not far off from the cautionary tales played out in movies including Metropolis, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator of course, and most recently, Ex Machina. According to Stuart Russell of U.C. Berkeley, "if the system is better than you at taking into account more information and looking further ahead into the future, and it doesn't have the exactly the same goals as you…then you have a problem." A superintelligent computer could avoid being shut down by its creators, and that's when people might lose control of the machine, Russell warned.