In Japan's FANUC plant robots are producing robots and they outnumber people. Robots are beating humans in intelligence games, reading and writing pop songs. They are driving us to our chosen destinations and are on their way to become doctors, engineers, scientists, songwriters and painters. Never ever in history, the boundaries between fact and fiction were so thin. By 2030 AI will add an additional $15.7 trillion to the global economy.

Artificial intelligence is driving a "technology renaissance" but its evolution could lead to doomsday scenarios seen in science fiction, according to one of the co-founders of Google. Sergey Brin, who is the president of Google's parent company Alphabet, laid out his concerns in the company's annual Founder's Letter, which serves to provide updates about the firm's recent progress and future plans. "The new spring in artificial intelligence is the most significant development in computing in my lifetime," Mr Brin said. "Every month, there are stunning new applications and transformative new techniques. "In this sense, we are truly in a technology renaissance, an exciting time where we can see applications across nearly every segment of modern society." Mr Brin referenced Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities in his letter, quoting the famous opening: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The Russian-born billionaire related this to the paradoxical nature of AI, saying that the technology's potential for good is offset by the harm that its development could bring. "Such powerful tools also bring with them new questions and responsibilities.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has warned that the current boom in artificial intelligence has created a "technology renaissance" that contains many potential threats. Writing in the company's annual Founders' Letter, published Friday, the Alphabet president struck a note of caution. "The new spring in artificial intelligence is the most significant development in computing in my lifetime," writes Brin. "Every month, there are stunning new applications and transformative new techniques." But, he adds, "such powerful tools also bring with them new questions and responsibilities."