Our Impending AI Overlords

The idea of truly general artificial intelligence has fascinated me since my early days as a computer science undergrad.  While AI is not my specific area of expertise, there is no doubt in my mind it is an inevitability.  The timing is the only real question.  Therefore I've been very happy to see prominent authors, thinkers, and entrepreneurs publicly discussing the very real dangers and moral dilemmas generalized AI will present.  These include the ephemeral questions about the qualities and very definition of consciousness, to the practical questions of what a society is to do when human labor is no longer marketable, and everything in between.

Anyone interested in taking a deep dive into generalized AI's risks and challenges should consider Nick Bostrom's dense but fantastic book Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies.  It is a challenging but rewarding experience.  For a slightly less intense examination of generalized AI, I highly recommend Sam Harris's TED talk Can we build AI without losing control over it?.