Artificial intelligence has already enabled humans to chat with robots like Alexa and Siri that were inspired by science fiction. Some of its newest creations take a page from a hero of children's literature: Doctor Dolittle. Researchers are using AI to parse the "speech" of animals, enabling scientists to create systems that, for example, detect and monitor whale songs to alert nearby ships so they can avoid collisions. It may not yet quite be able to talk to the animals the way the century-old children's-book character could, but this application of what is known as "deep learning" is helping conservationists protect animals, as well as potentially bridging the gap between human and nonhuman intelligences.

Technology has been directly blamed for stealing our humanity², yet it can teach us how to be whole again. Artificial intelligence has shown the objectivity to let us see who we really are because we've lost the ability to see it for ourselves. We are living in a world where robots driven by AI are already interacting with humans. The biggest obstacle in forging a relationship between human and machine has always been a matter of trust. Humans struggle with trusting robots because they behave perfectly -- which only magnifies the differences between them and us.

It always feels like a cop-out when people sidle up to you as you're discussing any overtly creative work of art and intone, "Well, people don't have the attention span for that kind of thing nowadays, do they?" The thinking is that anything that requires sustained concentration couldn't possibly hold the collective focus of a group, which is in part why I'm fascinated when I watch Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is commemorating its 50th anniversary at a time when we most need to be reminded of its potency. Under the aegis of Christopher Nolan, a new "unrestored" 70 mm version of 2001 has been making the rounds this summer, and Warner Brothers is putting out a Blu-ray version in the fall that will likely stand as definitive, so now is the time for this movie to teach us a lesson all over again. According to Michael Benson's Space Odyssey, which was published in April, Kubrick told a friend he wanted 2001 to be "the first science-fiction film which isn't considered trash," which was why Kubrick roped Clarke into working on the screenplay, which then led to Clarke composing a novel so he'd have something to base the script on. Kubrick's disdain for sci-fi's history wasn't entirely fair, but even its best exemplars came cloaked in the robes of the genre: atomic bugs munching their way through civilization, pissed-off aliens deciding to get the jump on Earth folk before the latter took to space and screwed up a lot of stuff for a lot of races unlike our own.

Researchers have known that "artificial neurons" could carry out logical functions--i.e., learn the way humans do--since 1943. The term "artificial intelligence" has been around since its introduction at a science conference at Dartmouth University in 1956. But only in the past several years have we started seeing theory put into practice the way those researchers imagined. We now have machines that can translate languages, compose music, write novels, and operate vehicles. So what might the implications of these developments be for educators and students? The primary goal of AI research may be to teach machines how to learn, thereby automating some of the tasks that complicate our everyday lives, but brain scientists are saying it goes both ways: We now know more about human learning as a result of machine learning, and it has some exciting implications for the classroom.

The latest research from DeepMind is proving how inspired the idea to model neural networks of the human mind truly was. The strength of the association between the human brains and and their computational models is revealing weaknesses in our own minds and teaching us how to overcome them. Google's engineers, inspired by neuroscience, have created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) using an Artificial Neural Network that can hang onto knowledge as it moves from task to task, spinning the straw of raw memory into gold that stays with the program, forming long-term experiences. And while human minds do this after a fashion, we are not as adept at discerning what is important. You may recall the song lyrics you heard when you first rode a bicycle as well as you recall important information from your career successes.

Can we have creative that scales and customizes itself? Chatbots are treated like the simpletons of the artificial intelligence world, overshadowed by movie-trailer-creating Watson and its ilk, or the suggestion engines of huge etailers. But a good implementation of a simple chatbot requires a deft understanding of the interplay between man and machine. And as technology slingshots us forward, the comprehension of this "in-between" space will be a prerequisite for any brand or advertiser hoping to make it in a world profuse with new and amazing digital experiences. When, and how, do we "hand off" the experience from the machine to the human, and vice versa? Programmatic targeting is facing a similar issue, in an industry unsure how the coupling mechanism between man and machine should work.