We live not only in a time of social and technological transition, but also of biological, evolutionary, and environmental change. It is also a time of great and growing upheaval--of societies, species, and the planet itself. Artificial intelligence has already permeated many aspects of daily life and will continue to alter the affairs of men and women, institutions, and warfare, in ways both positive and negative, beyond the lifetime of anyone reading these words.
AI is changing how people live, work, learn, play, and interact. It is changing their health outlook, consumer behavior, employment prospects, work place, and capacity to thrive in a rapidly changing world growing increasingly dependent on technology. Behind the scenes, AI is drastically changing business, banking, and the global economy. The continued development and deployment of AI-empowered weapons have already changed the way that wars and, inevitably, policing, will be conducted in the future.
AI development currently promises spectacular advances in health care, disease eradication, prosthetics, education, and resolution of crucial global problems such as climate change, resource depletion, and famine. However, the specter of autonomous weapons equipped with human reasoning, super-intelligent computers disdainful of their intellectually human inferiors, and virus-like nanorobot viruses are more real than most people realize or want to believe. The means to create weapons that operate independently of human operators is not merely science fantasy; it already exists. From flying laser cannons to robot tanks and submarines, the advent of AI-controlled weapons has already spawned a futuristic arms race. AI milestones are virtually toppling like dominoes, day by day. One event is certain: ultimately, the quality of life and possibly the entire fate of everyone who lives on Earth will be forever impacted by artificial intelligence from birth to death--and possibly beyond