We rightly worry about the impact of this new technology. Will it take away our jobs? Will it dismantle the fabric of our societies? Ultimately, will it destroy us all – whether through its own nascent self-interest, or because of a lack of programming foresight which leads to the Earth’s entire resources being transformed into a vast mound of paperclips? Running beneath many of these worries, especially the more existential and apocalyptic, is the assumption that AI will – at some point in its accelerating development – become conscious. This is the myth of the golem made silicon.
