Welcome to our brave new world
in which computers
are hearing, speaking,
thinking, and learning.
Artificial Intelligence is
giving humanity the potential
to flourish like never before,
yet at the risk to self-destruct.
We need to talk about AI.
AI will be the fastest
and greatest wealth generator
of our time.
AI will help
humanity cure diseases.
Enable smart cities.
Tackle our
environmental challenges.
And redefine poverty.
This is the opportunity
for us to master our own destiny
beyond our wildest dreams.
Here is the potential
for human society 
to undergo a miraculous upgrade.
We need intelligence.
We want more of it.
Intelligence is our best ally.
Developing smart machines
is a business imperative,
yet the most urgent ethical
challenge for humanity.
Already, the best chess
player is a computer.
The best GO competitor
is a computer.
The best driver is a computer.
Self-driving cars will eliminate
90% of road deaths.
AI diagnostic systems
will help prevent fatalities
due to human error.
Judges, bankers, and lawyers
are next on target
to be upstaged by AI.
The list goes on.
A truly impressive resume.
Intelligence is control.
Superintelligence
is super-control.
Imagine a world
where an increasing number
of our human skills are
being eclipsed by intelligent
self-improving machines one
after another exponentially.
To continue to imagine
our future in a linear way
will lead to fatal assumptions
about the scale, the speed,
and the impact of change.
We may not comprehend how our
bots arrive at their decisions.
And yet, they will
increasingly run our lives.
Will we happily
take their advice
and swap democracy for data?
Should we abdicate now,
surrender to the algorithm,
and become obsolete?
The more we robotize our world,
the less we govern ourselves.
Mainframes, desktops,
laptops, mobiles, wearables,
digital implants, brain-computer
interfaces, pills,
where will it stop?
Is wired or fired our future?
Let’s not chisel away our human
traits, emotions, spontaneity,
intuition, and imagination just
to keep up with the machines.
When our bodies are no longer
central to our identity, we
will have crossed the threshold
to becoming like machines.
In time, AI will dwarf
the danger of nuclear weapons.
Yet, it remains a largely
unregulated space.
Without governance,
AI could result
in the most perfect surveillance
operating system ever built.
It is up to us to define the
goals and set the boundaries.
To determine where
the machine should stop
and the humans should prevail.
This is the clarion call
for an international treaty
banning autonomous intelligent
weapons to avoid
an out-of-control arms race.
Our responsibility is to draw
the line between
efficiency and freedom.
Security and privacy.
Super intelligence
and happiness.
It will be essential
to share the abundance
and prosperity fuelled by AI,
without creating a society
that lacks purpose,
aspiration, and self-worth.
We need a digital ethics
council for humanity.
We must start a fundamental
exploration of what role
we want AI to play
in serving humanity.
Answering the why question,
not just the how question.
Let’s uninstall the fear
but keep the caution.
And together, design a future
that results in human
flourishing for everyone.
Don’t sleep out
the future you want.
You may wake up
in the future you fear.
