On 26 September, without most of us noticing, humanity’s long-term odds of survival became ever so slightly better. Eleven million kilometres away, a NASA spacecraft was deliberately smashed into the minor planet-moon Dimorphos, and successfully changed its direction of travel. It was an important proof of concept that showed that if we’re ever in danger of being wiped out by an asteroid, we might be able to stop it hitting the Earth.
But what if the existential threat we need to worry about isn’t Deep Impact but Terminator?
As crazy as it may sound, the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) going rogue and posing a serious threat to human survival isn’t only for Hollywood movies – it’s increasingly something that serious thinkers are beginning to worry about.
Survival of the fittest
“AI could pose a threat to humanity’s future