A manned mission to Mars isn't even on the table yet (sorry, Elon) until we solve several huge problems, including cosmic radiation, landing heavy payloads, and a feasible alternative to chemical propulsion (most likely nuclear, but untested).
This article, both compelling and bleak, leaves little doubt: the Butlerian Jihad is coming. The forward-thinking universities should start training Mentats now.
They do indeed, but the trend is clear. In the 1940's, people in the US went to the movies about 25 times a year. In 2002, it was just under 5 times a year. Today, it's around 2 times a year.
I see the comments below with the positive and negative aspects of AI, and I think there are very good points made. I've had this discussion before with many friends of mine, and the point I usually make is this: good or bad, there's no going back to the "good old days."
I think of those movie trailers where the cast appears to plead with us to watch their upcoming movie in a theater, "the way it's meant to be seen." Do I agree with them? Yes. Do I think that as a society we're going to give up on streaming and go back to the theaters en masse? Not a chance in hell.
You can always take a side on whether progress or change is a good thing or not, but what you can't do is turn back the clock. So the real question is: where do we go from here?
The question on my mind: what do we do in a few years (or sooner) when the AI's have become good enough to pass the Turing test and we just can't tell anymore whether the response is AI slop or not?
This is exactly the kind of visibility we need for our leaders. Unfortunately, these days many people are so jaded about them that we accept any malfeasance to be business as usual.
I grew up in the Midwest. My parents dabbled with Jehovah's Witness when I was 7. I think even then I thought the concept of an all-knowing, all-powerful being that was never seen or heard seemed very odd. Now throw in no Christmas? No thank you!