AI for Good

Like death and taxes, the inevitable question I cannot escape when on the road is, "Will artificial intelligence (AI) spell human extinction?" We humans have a natural fear of the unknown, so the question is, well, natural. The sentiment comes largely from countless movies portraying robots (with self-awareness AI) turning on their human makers and emotionlessly eliminating them. We fear what we do not understand, and AI (or self-learning) algorithms are far from dinner table conversation for most people. So do we have anything to fear and, if so, when will we need to build that cabin in the Canadian Rockies?