Science fiction can tell us a lot about our problems with artificial intelligence

REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschThe humanoid robot AILA (artificial intelligence lightweight android) operates a switchboard during a demonstration by the German research centre for artificial intelligence at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover March, 5, 2013. Last year, an open letter with signatories including Stephen Hawking and Nick Bostrom called for AI to be of demonstrable benefit to humanity, or risk something that exceeds our ability to control it. AI, as conceived of in popular culture, does not yet exist, even if autonomous and expert systems do. Smartphones might not be supercomputers, but they are called "smartphones" for good reason, in terms of how their operating systems function. Equally, we are happy to talk about a computer game's "AI", but gamers quickly learn to take advantage of its limitations and inability to "think" creatively.