Robotics
Friend or Foe? What is the future of artificial intelligence (AI)? Will it be possible for robots to be autonomous? If so, when will that happen and will it be a good thing? We asked four experts what they think. I would say that we are quite a long way off developing the computing power or the algorithms for fully autonomous AI, though I do think it will happen within the next thirty or forty years. We will probably remain in control of technology and it will help us solve many of the world’s problems. However, no one really knows what will happen if machines become more intelligent than humans. They may help us, ignore us or destroy us. I tend to believe AI will have a positive influence on our future lives, but whether that is true will be partly up to us. I have to admit that the potential consequences of creating something that can match or surpass human intelligence frighten me. Even now, scientists are teaching computers how t...