Since the 1950s, discussions about AI have largely revolved around a big, tantalizing question: What can machines do, and where might they hit a wall? Will they ever truly think, understand, or maybe even become conscious? Could they reach the so-called “heights of human intelligence”? And then there’s that shadowy question looming in the background: Would they turn on us if they could, becoming some kind of rival species? This fear has fueled imaginations for years. The philosopher Nick Bostrom, for example, envisions a future where machine superintelligence could control our destiny, much as human power now holds sway over the survival of gorillas.