(For the British-challenged in the audience, “boffin” seems to mean “scientist.”)

Why, when I read this, do I get a mental picture of a modern-day Paul Revere, buzzing through the streets on a moped, yelling “The Singularity is coming!”? 🙂

Despite the rather alarmist tone of the article, I really don’t think it’s going to be a problem. I’ve done a lot of thinking on the social ramifications of this sort of thing, and I think it’s highly likely (to the point of inevitability) that humans and machines will merge, rather than machines taking over and wiping humans out.

And I’m not talking about some kind of Borg-like merging, either — we’ll just continue to incorporate useful technology into our lives. Once the brain is thoroughly understood, that will include mental enhancements. The line between natural intelligence and true artificial intelligence (which indirect evidence suggests is only a few years from its birth) will blur to the point that you won’t be able to tell the difference between them, because there won’t be any.