Like many informed people I talk to, I believe artificial intelligence is often overblown. Plenty of experts agree that what Arthur C Clarke called the “artificial stupidity” of computers makes them our servants, not our masters.
Surely the human brain’s ability to think creatively, to have intuition, ideas and even hunches is impossible to replicate electronically?
But what if AI sceptics have over-estimated the human brain? Last week, IBM demonstrated a programme that just about held its own against a skilled human debater on the topics of whether government support of space exploration and telemedicine were good things. It was not wholly convincing, but it did make me rethink AI.