We’re all gonna die. Or are we? Maybe we’ll end up better than before.

That’s what a lot of people are thinking these days as the baleful shadow of Artificial Intelligence (AI) darkens the sky above us and leaves us speculating over the fate of civilization as the shadows around us grow deeper and deeper.

As far back as 2014, the renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking said in a BBC News interview, “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Hawking, often considered the greatest scientist in the world since Albert Einstein, has repeatedly warned about the threat of climate change, artificial intelligence, population growth and hostile aliens.

Before he died in 2018, Hawking, gave an interview to WIRED Magazine and predicted AI will eventually reach a level where it will essentially be a “new form of life that will outperform humans.”

Doesn’t that send a chill down your spine when you stare at night into the darkness of the star-studded universe contemplating your existence? “I fear that AI may replace humans altogether, Hawking said. “If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”

The renowned physicist maintained some primitive forms of AI have already proven very useful, but he feared the consequences of creating something that could match or surpass the thinking power of humans. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate.” Not unlike cancer.

Elon Musk isn’t any more optimistic about the AI future. The controversial CEO of Space X considered by some the smartest and most powerful entrepreneur on earth, Musk has become obsessed with building a rocket ship that could fly to Mars in order to colonize the Red Planet and escape social and environmental collapse on Earth. AI could easily trigger such a catastrophic collapse, Musk muses. “If AI has a goal and humanity just happens to be in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about it.”  Will humankind be missed? Musk doesn’t think so. “Robots will be able to do everything better than us.”

But despite all the AI doom and gloom, some thinkers and futurists think AI-based systems have immense potential to improve the lot of the human race because they enable existing computer systems to work faster and more efficiently than they ever have before. In medicine, this could lead to cancer being cured and new cures for other diseases. Business productivity will be lifted, poverty reduced and living standards improved for third world countries. AI could be used to discover breakthroughs in overcoming climate change and lead to improved forecasting to prevent damage from storms and floods

Used the right way, AI could also be used to overcome homelessness and to develop programs dealing with social issues such as racism, wealth inequity and negative conditions faced by youth and seniors.

Simon Biggs, a professor of interdisciplinary arts at the University of Edinburgh, said by being able to draw on all the world’s knowledge at any given time AI systems “will function to augment human capabilities.” But there’s also a downside to this, Biggs warned. “Given historical precedent, one would have to assume it will be our worst qualities that are augmented. My expectation is that in 2030 AI will be in routine use to fight wars and kill people, far more effectively than we can currently kill.”

So who will win out – the good AI or the bad? Considering the current perilous state of world affairs today it’s difficult to be optimistic about the chances of good AI winning. War continues between Ukraine and Russia and Russia appears to have the edge. Israel and Hamas remain embroiled in yet another bloody Middle East war with more than 30,000 slaughtered, most of them Palestinian women and children.

Is Artificial Intelligence the most dangerous problem facing humanity today? I would say no because I believe the most horrific problem facing us all is the malice and cruelty often found in human nature.

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, trying his best not to despair these dark days.