AI agents are taking charge. They promise convenience, but some have leaked data, made surprise purchases, and even tried to replicate themselves. Big Tech and the military are betting big on their future. As we hand over more control, are we ready for what comes next?

People express a lot of fear when it comes to AI. Some worry AI will grow superhuman and kill us all. Others are concerned that AI lead automation will displace over 100 million workers and devastate the economy. Honestly, either may happen because the simple truth of AI is that when machines learn, humans lose control. Currently, self-learning AI is not particularly sophisticated.

Some of those problems are already in front of us, and we might miss them if we're looking for a Skynet-style takeover by hyper-intelligent machines. "While you're focused on this, a bunch of small things go unnoticed," says Dr. Finale Doshi-Velez, an assistant professor of computer science at Harvard, whose core research includes machine learning. Instead of trying to prepare for a superintelligence, Doshi-Velez is looking at what's already happening with our comparatively rudimentary A.I.