WASHINGTON–Superintelligent computers could outsmart humans, but scientists largely dismiss any parallels to Terminator and a dystopian "rise of the machines" (much like the hapless scientists in the movies, it must be noted). The struggle between the thirst for research and the anxiety over the consequences was clear from "Are Super Intelligent Computers Really A Threat to Humanity?" a panel discussion held at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Tuesday morning. The risks of rogue machinery are not far off from the cautionary tales played out in movies including Metropolis, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator of course, and most recently, Ex Machina. According to Stuart Russell of U.C. Berkeley, "if the system is better than you at taking into account more information and looking further ahead into the future, and it doesn't have the exactly the same goals as you…then you have a problem." A superintelligent computer could avoid being shut down by its creators, and that's when people might lose control of the machine, Russell warned.

Artificial intelligence experts are divided over the threat of superintelligent computers. One group argues that even though these machines may be decades or centuries away, the scale of the catastrophe they could cause is so great, we should take action now to prevent them from taking over the world and killing everyone. Another group dismisses the fear of superintelligent computers as speculative and premature, and prefers to focus on existing and near-future AI. In fact, though, these two sides may have more common ground than they think. It's not necessary to choose between focusing on long-term and short-term AI threats, when there are actions we can take now to simultaneously address both.