What Does It Mean For Us To Live With Computers That Appear Sentient?

How should we be thinking about machine learning and AI? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. The big issue that I am interested in is: what does it mean for us to live with machines that are not sentient but appear as if they are? Let's start by quickly defining sentience and intelligence (at least for this discussion). We'll say that intelligence is the ability solve complex problems, handle varied input and achieve goals. An abacus is not intelligent.