I love you too, HAL

Automatic reply programme is designed to mimic the user’s methods of expression

Do we need to worry about the rise of artificial intelligence?

Most of us have wished our smartphones, tablets and laptops could act as electronic concierges capable of dealing with the pesky little details of our daily lives, freeing up our time to do more important tasks. But some also fear these electronic helpers will turn out to be like HAL, the murderous computer program in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Whether this future turns out to be utopian or dystopian, we are about to get a taste of it through Google’s Smart Reply program, which analyses someone’s writing style and crafts automatic replies in their personal idiom.

We know Google already scans the contents of our emails for advertising purposes. But should we welcome our new robot overlord, or is this a case when we should open the pod bay doors and jettison it? Maybe we shouldn’t be worried: early testing in-house revealed the limitations of such artificial intelligence, with “I love you” often suggested as a response between colleagues.