Will artificial intelligence usher in a golden age, or are we sowing the seeds of our own destruction? Some scientists have long feared an AI-triggered apocalypse, as ever more ruthless and capable machines elbow us aside. The more extreme doomsayers are even stockpiling supplies in bunkers to prepare for the dystopian future.





Optimists, on the other hand, counter that AI will be a gigantic boon, as has already been seen in science and medicine. They point to the impressive list of AI's triumphs, such as Google DeepMind's Nobel-prizewinning work mapping proteins.





Toby Walsh has worked in AI since before most people had a computer. In God AI, he guides us with humour and humanity through the claims and the counter-claims – and helps us make up our own minds about one of the biggest issues of our time.