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. <\/p>\n
Never far from the surface, a dark, dystopian view of artificial intelligence (AI) has returned to the headlines, thanks to British physicist Stephen Hawking. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
\"Once humans develop artificial intelligence it would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate,\" he said. <\/p>\n
But experts interviewed by AFP were divided. <\/p>\n
Some agreed with Hawking, saying that the threat, even if it were distant, should be taken seriously. Others said his warning seemed overblown. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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Artificial intelligence: Hawking's fears stir debate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. Continue reading