Thought leader Nick Bostrom likened AI to the development of a nuclear bomb, as he warned that once it got into the hands of major powers it could become 'unstoppable'.
One expert has argued that AI could be captured by political powers that use it to further their control.
Likening the growing industry to the development of the nuclear bomb, philosopher and author Nick Bostrom argued that AI has the potential to become unstoppable once geopolitical forces.
He added that this could be the beginning of a bleak future.
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Speaking to The Times, he said: It's a bit like setting off a firecracker.
You just can't stop it, and once geopolitical forces take an interest in AI as a key to strategic dominance, the role of intellectuals like me is a thing of the past - the big powers are taking the reins.
He went on to say that AI was a bit like the Manhattan Project, the research and development program behind the first atomic bomb.
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He said: [It] started with physicists but then, for better or for worse, it was taken out of their hands, and it became the president of the United States who made the decisions.
The AI thought leader added that he predicts the same will happen with AI at some point.
The 51-year-old has established himself as a leading thinker about the future of life under the influence of AI, with the likes of Elon Musk and Bill Gates pushing ideas and theories.
In a more pessimistic vision of the future, academics expect AI to evolve into artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the near future.
When that happens, AGI will leave humans with nothing to do, because it will be able to match or beat us in almost every task. Echoing Elon Musk's ruminations about AI's impact on work life, Bostrom believes that everyone will be affected by this development.
All of us he said. Human capital would be devalued in this scenario. Philosophers in particular. All that the human mind can do.
However the future outlook for humanity is not entirely bleak, with Bostrom admitting that if we get our act together and work together things might get a little better.
On what some might consider a more positive note, the philosopher went on to say that AI could change things in the bedroom, with sexbots becoming more commonplace and turning humans into sex and love.
Bostrom said sexbots could become one of those generational things where older people think they're creepy and fake and that humans need to live with real people and all their flaws. Is.
But the next generation he continued, who will grow up with it might think 'Oh you're so set in your ways Dad why do you put up with all these smelly smelly people. When my little here chatbot is very engaging and interesting.
