  There is both much optimism and pessimism around artificial intelligence (AI)
today. The optimists are investing millions of dollars, and even in some cases
billions of dollars into AI. The pessimists, on the other hand, predict that AI
will end many things: jobs, warfare, and even the human race. Both the
optimists and the pessimists often appeal to the idea of a technological
singularity, a point in time where machine intelligence starts to run away, and
a new, more intelligent species starts to inhabit the earth. If the optimists
are right, this will be a moment that fundamentally changes our economy and our
society. If the pessimists are right, this will be a moment that also
fundamentally changes our economy and our society. It is therefore very
worthwhile spending some time deciding if either of them might be right.
