More on the Machines

I don't know if the new Terminator movie is going to have a big box office weekend, but it has spawned yet another article considering the rise of the machines. This one raises a possibility that the previous post somewhat missed: that the problem may not be the machines taking over, but rather one of catastrophe instead. That is, rather than living in a world where the machines dominate the humans, it may be the case that rivalry among countries, differences over how far to go with the development of Artificial Intelligence, and the like might cause accidents, significant conflict and crises that might spiral out of control.

Indeed, one cannot overestimate the tendency for science combined with international politics to lead to destructive outcomes--chemical warfare, nuclear weapons, etc. Suuuuu-purrrrrr!