Microsoft founder Bill Gates is worried Artificial Intelligence (AI) could get out of control.

If you have watched any Terminator films, which feature a world where machines have taken over, you might be a tinsy little bit concerned.

And he’s not the only one – renowned scientist Stephen Hawking told the BBC: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Space pioneer and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has also voiced concern about AI.

Mr Gates made his comments during a recent question and answer session on the Reddit social network site. Asked by a user about how much of an existential threat machine super intelligence will be, he said: “I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence.

“First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don’t understand why some people are not concerned.”

But there are those who think we will be able to keep control of smart robots, including Microsoft research chief Eric Horvitz who said: “There have been concerns about the long-term prospect that we lose control of certain kinds of intelligences.

“I fundamentally don’t think that’s going to happen.”

According to the BBC, he also said: “I think that we will be very proactive in terms of how we field AI systems, and that in the end we’ll be able to get incredible benefits from machine intelligence in all realms of life, from science to education to economics to daily life.”

Phew, that’s okay then…

by John Connor