Skip to main content current edition: International edition The Guardian - Back to home Become a supporter Subscribe Find a job Jobs Sign in Search Show More Close with google sign in become a supporter subscribe search find a job dating more from the guardian: change edition: edition International edition The Guardian - Back to home browse all sections close Artificial intelligence (AI) Opinion AI is getting brainier: when will the machines leave us in the dust? Ian Sample Ian Sample To usher in the ‘Singularity’ – when computers match human intelligence – superintelligent one trick ponies like DeepMind must become jacks of all trades Google DeepMind challenge match between AI program AlphaGo and the South Korean professional Go player Lee Sedol. South Korean professional Go player Lee Sedol. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP Artificial intelligence (AI) Opinion AI is getting brainier: when will the machines leave us in the dust? Ian Sample Ian Sample To usher in the ‘Singularity’ – when computers match human intelligence – superintelligent one trick ponies like DeepMind must become jacks of all trades Contact author @iansample Wed 15 Mar ‘17 15. 43 GMT Last modified on Wed 15 Mar ‘17 16. 26 GMT The road to human-level artificial intelligence is long and wildly uncertain. Most AI programs today are one-trick ponies. -- Put humans in a situation where a problem must be solved and, if they can leave their smartphones alone for a moment, they will draw on experience to work out a solution. The skill, already evident in preschool children, is the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence. If it can be distilled and encoded in software, then thinking machines will finally deserve the name. -- Topics Loading comments… Trouble loading? more on this story Robots could destabilise world through war and unemployment, says UN United Nations opens new centre in Netherlands to monitor artificial intelligence and second-guess threats Published: 27 Sep 2017 Robots could destabilise world through war and unemployment, says UN Robots have already taken over our work, but they’re made of flesh and bone Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger The triumph of ‘digital Taylorism’ means that many jobs in the modern economy have been sapped of their humanity, write professors Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger Published: 25 Sep 2017 Robots have already taken over our work, but they’re made of flesh and bone Robots 'could take 4m UK private sector jobs within 10 years' Royal Society of Arts survey suggests technology could phase out mundane roles, raise productivity and bolster wages Published: 19 Sep 2017 Robots 'could take 4m UK private sector jobs within 10 years' Deutsche Bank boss says 'big number' of staff will lose jobs to automation John Cryan told conference in Frankfurt that accountants could be replaced by machines, while also saying that Frankfurt is ideally placed to benefit from Brexit Published: 6 Sep 2017 Deutsche Bank boss says 'big number' of staff will lose jobs to automation + Robots and AI can bring down pension age, says TUC Published: 4 Sep 2017 Robots and AI can bring down pension age, says TUC + The future of funerals? Robot priest launched to undercut human-led rites Published: 23 Aug 2017 The future of funerals?