It's only been since 2010 that we've known how to actually do it, but the technology exists. Pandora's box has been opened.
AI development isn't science fiction either. GPU's + convolutional neural networks have been enabling radical developments in the area.
I think both of these developments have a whole bunch of potential to make our society drastically better. However there's a bunch of potential threats they represent, and it makes sense to be thinking about counter measures for those threats at the same time we develop the tech.
Yes, but at least in the case of AI, it's so primitive and so far away from being any type of intelligence that the only intelligence is in the name. Sorry, that doesn't count, especially when you're talking about putting valuable resources into something that may never materialize: real AI. I suspect that the same applies to synthetic biology at this point, though I'm no expert on that.
Also look at this: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-...
It's only been since 2010 that we've known how to actually do it, but the technology exists. Pandora's box has been opened.
AI development isn't science fiction either. GPU's + convolutional neural networks have been enabling radical developments in the area.
I think both of these developments have a whole bunch of potential to make our society drastically better. However there's a bunch of potential threats they represent, and it makes sense to be thinking about counter measures for those threats at the same time we develop the tech.