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In a recent interview with IDG NOW magazine, Ian Pearson, British Telecom’s so-called “futurologist”, claimed that within 10 years scientists will be able to create computers that are only intelligent, but also conscious like us. The grim visions of terminator-like wars for energy and resources, combined with the heat of the Fijian night, kept me awake ’till the early morning hours. I only fell asleep, when it struck me that machines may as well help us solve the problems of global warming, hunger and poverty.

Of course, nobody really understands how, if at all, A.I. will work. What does it mean that computers will have human-like consciousness? Will they develop national identity? Will they have political or religious views? Will their behavior be determined by their childhood experiences? Will they get involved in sex-scandals and be forced to resign under pressure of their conservative electorate? Let’s first assume that the answer is no.

Let us assume that a supercomputer with learning capability is ordered to find a solution for the Middle East conflict, and the solutions it comes up with are: (a) physical extermination of the Jewish population or (b) physical extermination of Palestinian population. None of these outcomes is acceptable, therefore the machine proves useless.

But what if the machine is capable of understanding human feelings? Well, I guess that in such a case we would stand a pretty good chance of massive system breakdown.

Realizing that machinery is of no use as far as conflict management is concerned, my focus turned to the oneiric apocalypse that awaited and I finally fell asleep.

* Grzegorz Motriuk is a development studies graduate student currently based with the United Nations in Fiji.