Industry responds to artificial intelligence technology development

Responses to a White House request for information about the future of artificial intelligence show a continued divide between those who are ready to embrace intelligent machines and those who worry about a future in which robots run the world. The responses were made public this month after the White House Office of Science and Technology issued a call for input about how artificial intelligence technology is currently shaping the world, how AI is likely to develop in the future and what role the government should play in either encouraging or regulating development. The request for information drew responses from large corporations, such as IBM, Google and Microsoft, as well as from academia and private citizens. The responses show there still is little agreement about the future of AI. "The danger is not machines run amok, as suggested by some, like [Elon] Musk or [Stephen] Hawking (who know nothing about AI). The danger is, like nuclear weapons, what AI will allow us to do to ourselves. And it is not a remote possibility, but already happening: Uber, for example, is proposing a fleet of driverless cars. What happens when the profits associated with whole industries are not distributed across the whole world, but flow into the coffers of a single company or person?"