Sign up to receive the Future Tense newsletter every other Saturday. As the editor of Future Tense, I have a few rules for writers. Chief among them: You're not allowed to open with a scary or utopian scenario and then write, "It sounds like science fiction, but …" And you need a very good reason to reference some of the biggest works of science fiction--1984, Brave New World, Gattaca, Minority Report, Terminator. Also, please avoid references to the Silicon Valley ethos of "move fast and break things." But if I don't, every article starts to sound the same: dystopian.

It's become increasingly comment nowadays for cybersecurity companies to market their products and solutions as AI-based. After all, if cybercriminals are getting smarter, then businesses will need smarter defenses to counter them. And which of us who are working down in the trenches of our IT profession can say they can keep up with the flood of new malware, vulnerabilities, and threats? The cyber landscape seems to be growing more dangerous each week, and there's no way you or I can learn all we need to know about these dangers and how to repel, mitigate or sidestep them. Enter artificial intelligence (AI) into the room.