Are you ready for the AI apocalypse?

This predicted scenario is one in which artificial intelligence (AI) surpasses humans as the brainiest beings on Earth. Robots and computer programs will rule the planet. Humans will be subservient or, worse, terminated. 

If this scares you, you’re not alone. 

In May, Bill Gates and several other prominent tech business and academic leaders urged politicians and policymakers to make “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI” a global priority.

It’s easy to see why experts might be a bit nervous. The world seems obsessed with AI, the vast branch of computer science focused on building machines that think and act like humans.