Technological development is constantly making huge leaps, and as we discover and develop new tools these leaps are becoming longer and more frequent.

Techonology seems to improve exponentially, and humanity is (supposedly) on the verge to developing a superintelligent, general AI.
A machine mind that's not only concious and self-aware, but capable of altering its source code and improving its own intelligence at rates prehaps beyond human comprehension.


In this short TED-talk neuroscientist and moral philosopher Sam Harris does an excellent job of presenting the topic of AI in a comprehensive and concise way:




I find it hard to belive this is anything but a doomsday scenario, unless we somehow manage to merge and become one with the machine. Yet the potential is there for AI to be the greatest thing that ever happened to mankind



What do you think?
How far away is a general AI? Will we be able to control it? Will it destory us? Will we destroy ourselves over it? Will it slingshot us into a new age of prosperity?