The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally Unleashed AI on the World | WIRED

Final paragraph of a Kevin Kelly AI perspective piece; also see Elon Musk: artificial intelligence is our biggest existential threat (The Guardian)

"But we haven't just been redefining what we mean by AI—we've been redefining what it means to be human. Over the past 60 years, as mechanical processes have replicated behaviors and talents we thought were unique to humans, we've had to change our minds about what sets us apart. As we invent more species of AI, we will be forced to surrender more of what is supposedly unique about humans. We'll spend the next decade—indeed, perhaps the next century—in a permanent identity crisis, constantly asking ourselves what humans are for. In the grandest irony of all, the greatest benefit of an everyday, utilitarian AI will not be increased productivity or an economics of abundance or a new way of doing science—although all those will happen. The greatest benefit of the arrival of artificial intelligence is that AIs will help define humanity. We need AIs to tell us who we are."

The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally Unleashed AI on the World | WIRED