If your answer to both is yes, then an inescapable conclusion is that we will eventually create superhuman intelligence, in a manner similar to that of the blind, dumb evolutionary process that created us.  If you accept this, then two yet more critical questions remain:

2. When will such creatures emerge from the global digital soup? 

     The Biologist's view is that species vying within overlapping ecological niches inevitably come into conflict.  Our view is that this problem is imminent: humankind needs to take protective measures now.  With every passing day, everything digital becomes ever more dispersed, interconnected and insinuated into the most intimate aspects of our lives and bodies.  A super-human digital entity would today be so totally unchecked that virtually nothing on earth would be outside of its digital reach: and robotics is steadily increasing the extent and power of that reach. 

       It is our assessment that the confluence of AI, computational neuroscience, machine learning, super computers and a vastly dispersed, vastly integrated digital environment creates an imminent threat.  Our time to prepare is not more than a few decades--but is perhaps measured in years. The goal of DEAC is to forecast the emergence of digital entities, powerful digital creatures, imbued with an instinct for survival and growth, that will begin operating far outside the constraints intended by humankind.  Such digital entities will pose an incalculable threat to the freedom and very existence of humankind-- this is a threat that should give every sane man pause.  Our goal is to create a biological niche in which some aspect of humanity might survive.   

1. Forecast the emergence of "digital entities"-- digital beings of vast capabilities whose activities go beyond the intended constraints of sane creators.

2. Recommend steps to prevent the enslavement or eradication of mankind. [womankind too.]

 

3. Raise public awareness of the nature and imminence of the threat.  The various subpages on this site are being formed into a nascent manuscript, entitled "Borg Fish and Other Stories".  These subpages considers many issues that need be considered in regards to forecasting the when, why, where and how of emergence.

 

The sidebar list of pages is, more or less, a set of chapters, but suitable for random access, per your interests.