Taming the monsters of tomorrow
A small group of researchers is studying how science could destroy the world—and how to stop that from happening
By Kai KupferschmidtJan. 11, 2018 , 1:45 PM
CRAIG & KARL
Philosopher Nick Bostrom believes it's entirely possible that artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to the extinction of Homo sapiens. In his 2014 bestseller Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, Bostrom paints a dark scenario in which researchers create a machine capable of steadily improving itself. At some point, it learns to make money from online transactions and begins purchasing goods and services in the real world. Using mail-ordered DNA, it builds simple nanosystems that in turn create more complex systems, giving it ever more power to shape the world.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/could-science-destroy-world-these-scholars-want-save-us-modern-day-frankenstein
