We have to face the possibility that superintelligent computers may come to view us the way we view cats or dogs. Photograph: iStock
Scared of artificial intelligence? Greg Heffley, the comic hero of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, has some good advice: “I’ve actually been preparing for when the robots take over by sucking up to the appliances in my house.” Cut to Greg – in The Meltdown, from the bestselling teenage book series – standing in front of a microwave saying “You’re looking good today. Did you just get cleaned?”
A prudent measure given the pace of technological progress. Even if AI doesn’t turn against us in some future robot war, we have to face the possibility of having a future status to superintelligent computers as cats or dogs are to humans now.
Whatever about the plans advanced AI may have for us, there is the nightmarish scenario that humans will be forced to accept
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