The rapid rise of artificial intelligence over the past few decades, from pipe dream to reality, has been staggering. A.I. programs have long been chess and Jeopardy! Champions, but they have also conquered poker, crossword puzzles, Go, and even protein folding. They power the social media, video, and search sites we all use daily, and very recently they have leaped into a realm previously thought unimaginable for computers: artistic creativity. Given this meteoric ascent, it's not surprising that there are continued warnings of a bleak Terminator-style future of humanity destroyed by superintelligent A.I.s that we unwittingly unleash upon ourselves.

A chemical responsible for the'loved-up' effects of the party drug ecstasy promotes teamwork but not gullibility, research suggests. Scientists found that MDMA, the drug's main active ingredient, made people better cooperators - but only when they trusted one another. They suggest that MDMA fires up parts of the brain involved in understanding the thoughts, beliefs and intentions of other people. The find could help researchers looking to treat psychological conditions such as PTSD, scientists said. Experts took brain scans of people on MDMA.