Friend or Foe? Scientists Outline What to Expect From AI Over the Next Century

The idea of man-made artificial intelligence is something that has fascinated and puzzled scientists, engineers and philosophers since the middle of the 20th century. Today, amid news that China and the United States are engaged in a race for AI superiority, and major progress by companies such as Google in making AI a reality, philosophical debates continue. This week, researchers gathered in Long Beach, California for the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference to discuss the possible dangers relating to the growing power of AI, and how to imbue it with an'ethical conscience.' Those subscribing to the first view fear the unknown, and what thoughts may appear in the AI's virtual mind. Scientists, meanwhile, for the most part, are more prone to supporting the latter.