A.I. verses us

The humans got crushed by a computer on "Jeopardy." And let's face it: the machines are only going to get better at it. Naturally, the predictable string of laments began anew in the post-mortem. Dour skeptics, like the medieval Cardinals they eerily recall, warn that the black art of artificial intelligence amounts to heresy. (Repent, IBM, or burn ye in Hellfire!) “Profound sociological and economic changes” are in the wind, New York Times essayist John Markoff gravely cautions. Acknowledging this wariness in a piece for The Atlantic, computer scientist Mark Bernstein says the worrywarts believe that, at best, thinking machines will ultimately “throw legions of workers out of work.” At worst, they will go all “Skynet” on us, Terminator-style. Such anxiety is nothing new, writes Bernstein. Many thought widespread reading skills would render priests and scholars obsolete. Others feared books would eliminate the need for teachers and tutors. And, as Bernstein drolly observes, “When we decided that it was self-evident that all men are created equal, lots of people were worried: Won't this be the end of civilized life? Who will make dinner and clean up the mess?” Given the possibility of human extinction by nukes, pandemic or global warming, methinks the coming age of A.I. is the least of our worries. And who knows? Maybe brainy computers will end up saving us from ourselves.