It may sound like nothing more than a thrilling science fiction trope, but scientists who study artificial intelligence warn that AI singularity — a point when the technology irreversibly surpasses the capabilities of the human mind — is a real possibility, and some say it will happen within a few decades.
Surveys of AI experts, including this one published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research in 2018, tend to find that a significant chunk of researchers think there’s at least a 50 percent chance that some people alive today will live to see an AI singularity. Some expect it within the next decade.
The moment AI reaches human-level intelligence will mark a profound change in the world. Such sophisticated AI could create more, increasingly advanced AI. At that point it might become difficult — if not impossible — to control.
For some background, AI caught the public’s attention in ...
