Human beings occupy a dominant position on our planet, not because we have stronger muscles or sharper teeth than other species, but because we have smarter brains. Our brains developed the technologies and the complex social organization that make us powerful. For example, our smartness gaveus bulldozers and knives that are stronger and sharper than any animal's muscles or teeth. If machine brains come to surpass human brains as ours surpass those of other animals, the machine brains could become as powerful relative to us as we are to the other animals. Extreme levels of machine intelligence - superintelligence - would potentially be in a position to shape the future. Whathappens to humanity, whether humanity would even survive, would then depend on the goals of the superintelligence. The possibility of a machine intelligence revolution is therefore an extremely important topic. Perhaps it is the most important topic. | Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters