REX/Jason Bye Professor Stephen Hawking at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Britain, Oct 19, 2012. There was the psychotic HAL 9000 in "2001: A Space Odyssey," the humanoids which attacked their human masters in "I, Robot" and, of course, "The Terminator", where a robot is sent into the past to kill a woman whose son will end the tyranny of the machines.

Never far from the surface, a dark, dystopian view of artificial intelligence (AI) has returned to the headlines, thanks to British physicist Stephen Hawking.

"The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC.

"Once humans develop artificial intelligence it would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate," he said.

But experts interviewed by AFP were divided.

Some agreed with Hawking, saying that the threat, even if it were distant, should be taken seriously. Others said his warning seemed overblown.

"I'm pleased that a scientist from the 'hard sciences' has spoken out. I've been saying the same thing for years," said Daniela Cerqui, an anthropologist at Switzerland's Lausanne University.

Gains in AI are creating machines that outstrip human performance, Cerqui argued. The trend eventually will delegate responsibility for human life to the machine, she predicted.

"It may seem like science fiction, but it's only a matter of degrees when you see what is happening right now," said Cerqui. "We are heading down the road he talked about, one step at a time."

Nick Bostrom, director of a programme on the impacts of future technology at the University of Oxford, said the threat of AI superiority was not immediate.

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Artificial intelligence: Hawking's fears stir debate