Science fiction has regularly dealt with the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to humanity's end (or at least its near end). In the Terminator series, a sentient computer system, Skynet, realizes that the best way to keep the world safe (and protect its own existence) is to wipe out mankind. In Battlestar Galactica, robots created as servants slowly outgrow their programming and come to the realization that they, not their human creators, should exist.
It's easy to see why the idea makes for good books and movies. If, for example, an artificial intelligence (AI) can beat a human at chess or on Jeopardy!, then it's easy to make the next leap to robots someday being smarter than humans and for that to go terribly wrong. That's a leap that's getting easier to make these days since robots and various other AI-powered devices have made their way into reality.
In some cases, they are taking our jobs while in others, AI handles our cybersecurity or tells us where we might like to eat dinner. Our homes have AI devices that can control our lights, alarm systems, and pretty much anything else.
Source: Fool.com