MR. METZ This is an ongoing problem. There have been very real and very significant gains in image recognition, speech recognition and language translation over the last several years. That can help with talking digital assistants, driverless cars and certain aspects of health care -- not to mention face recognition services and autonomous weapons. Driverless cars are still years from the mainstream. Better translation is very different from a more general intelligence that can do anything a human can do.

In Phoenix, cars are self-navigating the streets. In many homes, people are barking commands at tiny machines, with the machines responding. On our smartphones, apps can now recognize faces in photos and translate from one language to another. Artificial intelligence is here -- and it's bringing new possibilities, while also raising questions. Do these gadgets and services really behave as advertised? How will they evolve in the years ahead?

In Phoenix, cars are self-navigating the streets. In many homes, people are barking commands at tiny machines, with the machines responding. On our smartphones, apps can now recognize faces in photos and translate from one language to another. Artificial intelligence is here -- and it's bringing new possibilities, while also raising questions. Do these gadgets and services really behave as advertised?

In Phoenix, cars are self-navigating the streets. In many homes, people are barking commands at tiny machines, with the machines responding. On our smartphones, apps can now recognize faces in photos and translate from one language to another. Artificial intelligence is here -- and it's bringing new possibilities, while also raising questions. Do these gadgets and services really behave as advertised?