Recent land marks， such as the self-driving cars already mentioned， or a computer winning at the game of Go， are signs of what is to come。 Enormous levels of investment are pouring in to this technology。 The achievements we have seen so far， will surely pale against what the coming decades will bring， and we can not predict what we might achieve， when our own minds are amplified by AI。 Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution， we will be able to undo some of the damaged one to the natural world by the last one， industrialisation。 Every aspect of our lyves will be transformed。 In short， success in creating AI， could be the biggest event in the history of our civiliztion。
But it could also be the last， unless we learn how to avoid the risks。 I have said in the past that the development of full AI， could spell the end of the human race， such as the ultimate use of powerful autonomous weapons。 Earlier this year， I， along with other international scientists， supported the United Nations convention to negotiate a ban on nuclear weapons。 These negotiations started last week， and we await the outcome with nervous santicipation。 Currently， nine nuclear powers have access to roughly 14，000 nuclear weapons， any one of which can obliterate cities， contaminate wide swathes of land with radio active fall-out， and the most horrible hazard of all， cause a nuclear-induced winter， in which the fires and smoke might trigger a global mini-ice age。 The result is a complete collapse of the global food system， and apocalyptic unrest， potentially killing most people on earth。 We scientists bear a special responsibility for nuclear weapons， since it was scientists who invented them， and discovered that their effects are even more horrific than first thought。