In August, Elon Musk announced that he was developing a humanoid robot called "Tesla Bot" -- a prototype of which will supposedly be ready in 2022. The presentation itself was slightly bizarre, both because the bot was represented on stage by a dancing human in a bodysuit, and because Musk has warned for years about the dangers of artificial intelligence. But he was right about one thing: AI and robotics could eventually lead to a future where technology is so advanced that our role, much of our work and even our purpose in life could fundamentally change. As someone who has studied and worked in AI for the better part of four decades, my contention is that this change will likely come faster and go further than many of us anticipate -- even if it's driven more by AI-powered software than dancing robots. The question is how we're going to prepare.